Photo Courtesy: nenow
Itanagar: Residents in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kamle district are pushing back against the proposed Raga reserve forest. They demand an immediate cancellation of the project. The Raga Proposed Reserve Forest Affected People Forum claims the government ignored local voices. They want an open discussion with forest officials.
Forum chairman Himi Passa led a meeting Tuesday to organize their strategy. Participants included the Raga Zilla Parishad Member, Gaon Panchayat Chairpersons, Gaon Panchayat Members, and residents from various villages. They focused on the Raga forest range under the Hapoli Forest Division. Passa accused the divisional forest officer and the range forest officer of bypassing village authorities entirely. No one asked the villagers for consent.
The group has sent four requests for a meeting to the Kamle deputy commissioner without success. They have now issued a final seven-day deadline for a formal discussion with department heads. Failure to act will trigger a protest movement stretching from Tamen bridge point to Godak village. Passa remains firm on the timeline. "If the administration fails to convene a meeting within seven days, we will initiate a democratic movement," he said.
The forum maintains that forest officials will bear the blame for any resulting unrest. As of Tuesday, they had not yet submitted their formal representation to the district administration. The standoff continues.
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