PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the struggle and sacrifice of the statehood activists resulted in the creation of the separate State of Uttarakhand and they will always inspire future generations of Uttarakhand for patriotism, social service and nation-building. He was addressing a programme organized in the memory of the martyrs of the statehood movement at the Martyr’s memorial, Rampur Tiraha, Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. He said the statehood martyrs whose statues have not been installed yet, will be installed at appropriate locations in their villages or areas of residence. He also announced the upgrading of the State Guest House at Rampur Tiraha, the development of the library located in the memorial complex as an e-library and expansion of the museum. The museum will also include materials related to Uttarakhand’s traditional musical instruments, costumes and folk culture. Paying tributes to the martyrs of the Rampur Tiraha incident, the CM said that the State government is working to build the State in accordance with the dreams of the Uttarakhand statehood activists and martyrs. He said that the Rampur Tiraha incident on the night of October 1 and 2, 1994 when the statehood agitators were traveling to Delhi, is a very painful chapter in the history of Uttarakhand. Dhami averred that the State government is continuously working to protect the dignity and interests of statehood activists and their dependents. The statehood activists and their dependents are being given 10 per cent horizontal reservation in government services. He added that the process for issuing dependent certificates for state agitators has been simplified and orders have been issued to issue them at the tehsil level. He said that orders have been issued to name roads and schools in the State after martyrs of the statehood movement. The process of reconstruction and expansion of the martyr memorials at Rampur Tiraha, Khatima, Dehradun and Mussoorie has also been initiated. In the programme, the CM also laid the foundation stone for the installation of statues of the martyrs in the Rampur Tiraha incident. He said that an amount of Rs 27 lakh has been released for the installation of the martyrs’ statues at Rampur Tiraha. The CM also paid tribute to the late Pandit Mahavir Sharma, who donated the land for the Martyrs’ Memorial and said that his statue has also been installed in the memorial complex. In his address, the CM also expressed his gratitude to the local people who assisted the statehood agitators during the Rampur Tiraha incident. The CM said women played a crucial role in bringing the separate statehood movement to a decisive conclusion. Uttar Pradesh minister Kapil Dev Agarwal, vice president Uttarakhand Culture, Literature and Art Council Madhu Bhatt, vice president Uttarakhand Statehood Movement Honour Council Subhash Bardhwal, secretary Culture Yugal Kishore Pant and others attended the programme.
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