PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Jyotirmath
Frustrated by alleged governmental apathy, the residents of the famous winter games destination Auli in Chamoli district staged a protest and burned the effigies of the Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj and the Bharatiya Janata Party State president and Rajya Sabha member Mahendra Bhatt on Thursday. They alleged that though the government has reportedly spent crores of rupees on the development of Auli, the development is suffering due to official apathy.
The protesters pointed out that the State government installed snow-making machines on the ski slope and an ice skating rink. However, years after these facilities were provided the machines have not produced snow for the slope and the ice skating rink has remained unusable. Machines installed at a cost of crores of rupees are gathering rust here, they alleged. Local resident Vivek Panwar said that though Auli has an international identity when it comes to skiing, its existence is diminishing due to continued governmental apathy. The locals have now started protesting and are demanding that the ice skating rink should be started, he said.
It will be recalled that the 2011 South Asian Federation Winter Games were held in Auli while some events were held in Dehradun. In subsequent years planned prominent events could not be held in Auli due to inadequate snow.
