Kedarnath homeless may boycott 2014 polls

Kedarnath valley's flood affected residents may boycott the 2014 LS polls if the state government does not devise a proper rehabilitation policy for them.

Kedarnath valley residents, who lost their homes in June’s Uttarakhand floods, may boycott the 2014 general elections if the state government does not devise a proper rehabilitation policy for them.

Homeless families have been staying in makeshift tents in villages like Saemi, with the approaching winters adding to their woes; 187 roads have still not been repaired and residents of far-flung villages are traversing long distances in difficult terrain to procure rations from Guptkashi and Ukhimath.

Even after three months of the tragedy, residents have neither been relocated to the plains nor granted a special economic package to rebuild their lives, Ajendra Ajay, president of the Kedarghati Visthapan Va Punarvas Sangharsh Samiti, said. “The construction of 100 houses for the homeless in the area is just an eyewash. Victims are looking for a firm policy to resurrect their lives and not for such piecemeal efforts,” Ajay said.