Haldwani mandi shift plan triggers outrage

Agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal has said the ‘Mandi Parishad’ (marketing board) premises of Haldwani would be shifted away from its present location to the city outskirts where more land would be available for expansion work

Agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal has said the ‘Mandi Parishad’ (marketing board) premises of Haldwani would be shifted away from its present location to the city outskirts where more land would be available for expansion work.

Agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal contended that the ‘mandis’ (market) of Dehradun and Rishikesh are situated on prime land and there is no more land for their extension. (HT Photo)

The statement is likely to trigger a furore in Haldwani, which is already caught in a row over the shifting of the nter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) proposed in Golapar. Congress veteran and Leader of Opposition Indira Hridyesh has warned the government of a massive protest with around 10,000 people if it didn’t take back ack the decision to shift the proposed ISBT in Haldwani.

Incidentally, the word doing the round is that the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT), which is to come up in Golapar area of Haldwani, may be shifted to the Mandi Parishad area because of its strategic location.

Uniyal contended that the ‘mandis’ (market) of Dehradun and Rishikesh are situated on prime land and there is no more land for their extension. “In this case, the mandis of both the cities may be moved to other places where there is availability of land. The prime land presently occupied by the mandis of Dehradun and Rishikesh will be used for other purposes,” he said.

Haldwani Mandi parishad chairperson Sumit Hridyesh expressed surprise on hearing Uniyal’s statement. “It has come as a shocker to me. We can’t expect anything more from this government that is bent on undoing the development works carried out by the previous Congress government,” the Congress leader said.