Vipin Ghildiyal social activist undertakes indefinite hunger strike against callous attitude of district administration to his demands. Writes to CM and Satpal Maharaj

An educated and enlightened young man from Bironkhal block, under Chownatta khal legislative constituency hailing from Sheela Talla village in Puri Garhwal district has undergone an indefinite hunger strike in support of his several genuine n transparent demands and the difficulties being confronted by him and his family including eighteen other families of his village as well as the adjoining villages.

A social activist and a man with determination Vipin Ghildiyal’s today is the fourth day who is sitting on hunger strike in the open one kilometre upstream in the mountains of his village Sheela, in Bironkhal block and Chownattakhal area to attract the attention of the local administration, the district magistrate and the politicians so as to fulfill his demands pertaining to roads, health related grievances, to declare the area being utterly backward as OBC area, opening of a medical college, connecting Jwalpa Devi n Janda Devi ancient temples with tourism, giving employment to the local youths by opening paramedical colleges or Institute, declaring Chowbattakhal as a tiger sensitive zone as till date there had been eight incidents of human kills n grievous injuries by man eaters in this area. There are also complaints of several deaths due to snake bites and non availability of CHC, PHC injections etc. Not only this but in view of the non availability of doctors or paramedical staff in hospitals in interior blocks or district there have been several instances of pregnant women delivering babies on the way or succumbing to lack of treatment or excessive bleeding.

Above all Vipin Ghildiyal’s urge is also for bringing a strong land act in Uttarakhand. He has send memorandums in this regard to the CM Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami, Tourism minister of Uttarakhand Satpal Maharaj who is also the lawmaker from Chowbattakhal and the DM of Pauri Garhwal and has urged to fulfill his demands failing which he will give up his life for this genuine cause.

Till now no lawmaker, area representative, or official have gone there to know about his health except the leader of Sakth Bhu Kanoon Prabhat Kumar Karal who stayed with him for a day. Sheela village from where Vipin Ghildiyal hails is also the victim of massive migration with out of 240 families, only 18 living in the village presently.

Similarly in other adjoining villages people have migrated to plains in large numbers.

In Uttarakhand according to a conservative estimate more than three to five thousand villages have been vacated due to lack of basic avenues like jobs, health facilities, n educational avenues and the migration still continues unabated.

In a tweet the founding leader of Uttarakhand Sakht Bhu Kanun and president of Uttarakhand Journalists Forum and author Sunil Negi has appealed to the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to kindly intervene in this matter as the health of the hunger striker Vipin Ghildiyal is deteriorating as today is his fourth day undertaking fast unto death in the open in semi naked position in the chilled hills of Uttarakhand near his village Shila, in Bironkhal, Chowbattakhal area under Puri Garhwal district.