PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Jyotirmath
Locals continued their protest regarding various problems being faced at the winter sports destination Auli in Chamoli district on the fourth day on Sunday. With absence of snowfall leaving the skiing slope bare, the locals have questioned the costly snow making machines which are lying unused. They stressed that they will continue to protest till the responsibility of the department is fixed and action is taken against those responsible.
During the demonstration, the protesting locals had a telephonic conversation with Garhwal MP Anil Baluni and the Bharatiya Janata Party State president and Rajya Sabha member Mahendra Bhatt. Baluni assured that he will immediately talk to the officials of the department concerned. The Garhwal MP further said that he will visit Auli in February and talk about the schemes for development of the area.
The protesters also presented various suggestions regarding Auli to the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam and the district tourism officer. One of the protesters Vivek Panwar demanded that an Auli Development Authority should be established on the lines of the authority in place for Gulmarg in Kashmir. The authority should be responsible for the snow making system, the ice skating rink, management of the traffic system and other aspects for ensuring the all-round development of Auli.
The protesters along with officials of the GMVN and Tourism department also conducted a joint inspection of the ice skating rink. The locals said that a consensus was reached to address the issues found affecting the rink.
