E-Paper
Vantangnia farmers decry govt apathy
THOUSANDS OF Vantangnia community members took out an impressive rally from MP Inter College, which passed through various routes in the city and converted into a meeting on Civil Court Bar Association premises. Noted environmentalists and leaders of Chipko movement Sunder Lal Bahuguna, Vimla Bahuguna participated in the hearing and expressed anguish over the plight of around 35,000 members of Vantangnia community.
THOUSANDS OF Vantangnia community members took out an impressive rally from MP Inter College, which passed through various routes in the city and converted into a meeting on Civil Court Bar Association premises.
Noted environmentalists and leaders of Chipko movement Sunder Lal Bahuguna, Vimla Bahuguna, retired justice Rambhushan Mehrotra and coordinator of People’s Forum RK Mani Tripathi participated in the hearing and expressed anguish over the plight of around 35,000 members of Vantangnia community.
They condemned the apathetic attitude of the government for denying them basic facilities to them.
They demanded that the State government should give the status of revenue villages to 22 villages where Vantangnia farmers lived in pathetic condition. It is notable that Vantangnias were landless labourers who were hired to carry out plantation in the tribal belt of Himalayas
in 1920 by the British government. They were permitted carry out farming in between the land of plantation to earn their bread.
However, after independence the government imposed tax on them for utilization of forest while continuously ignoring them in the development process.
Jury of Indian People’s Tribunal Sunder Lal Bahuguna said it was amazing and painful to note that those who cultivated forests in Gorakhpur and Maharajganj and contributed a national assets of Rs 1000 crore, were today struggling to get the status of revenue villages.
Vantangnia farmers from Capart number 24 Hathiawaha, Barhawa, Tinkuiya, Noor Mohammad, Sitaram, Gyanti Devi and others lamented that there were no PHCs or primary schools in their villages.
