105 Days of Protest: Dumak Village Residents in Chamoli Plan Escalation Over Broken Promises

In the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, residents of Dumak village have been on a continuous protest for over 105 days, demanding the construction of a long-promised road. Despite enduring months of peaceful demonstrations and receiving repeated empty assurances, no significant action has been taken by authorities. Frustrated with what they see as false promises, the villagers recently burned an effigy of Radhika Jha, Uttarakhand’s Rural Development Secretary, as an expression of their discontent.

Demanding Action for Road Construction

The villagers of Dumak, located near Jyotirmath, have been staging their protest to push the government to begin work on a road that would connect their village to other areas. Specifically, they are calling for the construction of the Seji-Lagga Maikot-Wemru-Syun-Dumak-Kalgoth road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), a rural road development scheme. Although construction was approved under the program, the work has yet to begin, leaving villagers isolated from essential infrastructure.

Plans for Intensifying the Protest

In light of government inaction, the protestors plan to take their agitation to the district headquarters, with many villagers resolved to escalate their demonstration further. Dumak resident Suman Bhandari expressed her frustration, stating that for years, officials have repeatedly come to the village, providing only empty promises with no real outcomes. Despite India’s 75 years of independence, she noted, Dumak village remains without proper road access.

The chairperson of the protest committee, Raisingh Bhandari, emphasized the resolve of the villagers, declaring that the protests will continue until their demands are met.

Growing Frustration Among Villagers

The protest reached a peak when villagers, gathered at the Dumak village council hall, burned an effigy of the Rural Development Secretary and raised slogans against the administration. The villagers’ demand for accessible roads underscores a broader issue faced by many remote communities in Uttarakhand: the lack of basic infrastructure and the challenges posed by government inaction.

As tensions rise, the residents of Dumak are preparing to intensify their demonstrations, potentially targeting higher state authorities, including Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.