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Indrajit asks Kalyan Singh to save Gujjar community

Home Minister Indrajit Gupta has asked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh to intervene immediately to stop the harassment of the Van Gujjars of Dehra Dun district.

In a letter, Gupta said it had been brought to his notice by the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, Dehra Dun, that the Rajaji national park director was stopping the Gujjars from taking any rations for themselves or their buffaloes into the forests, and they were being beaten up.

''The director is also reported to have asked for a fee of anything from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per family, which the families of this community are unable to pay. On the other hand there are allegations that timber smuggling and poaching of wild animals with the collusion of the department continues unabated,'' the home minister wrote.

Gupta said the Van Gujjars were a pastoral tribe which had been living off buffaloes and milk products for centuries. These, in fact, were their only livelihood.

''For this they live in the foothills of the Shivaliks during the winter and in the highland Himalayas during the summer, a system which is eco-friendly. I would request you to intervene immediately and take necessary action so that the Van Gujjars, who are basically a tribal people, are not harassed,'' the letter said.

In a letter to Kalyan Singh, the Van Gujjars had written that the park director was not allowing them to even bring in rations. Doctors were being prohibited entry, and two people needing urgent medical attention had died. Further, at least 250 cattle had died for want of attention from a veterinary doctor.

Yet another person to point out the harassment was Union Minister of State for Finance Satpal Maharaj. He, too, wrote to the chief minister saying the department concerned should be instructed to allow the entry of vehicles so that the Van Gujjars, who 'were on the verge of starvation', are not deprived of medical and other facilities.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission, reacting to a similar complaint, has asked the UP chief secretary to submit a report by February 24.

UNI

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