Statehood agitators welcome Rs 10 crore fund

Dehradun: For the first time since Uttarakhand was formed in November, 2000, the Harish Rawat government has made provision in the budget for over 10,000 people who fought for the carving out of a separate state from Uttar Pradesh. The Rs 10 crore Rajya Andolankari Kalyan Kosh was announced in the budget presented on Monday.
The fund will go towards welfare schemes to cover the statehood agitators, chief minister Harish Rawat said.“The agitators were responsible for the creation of Uttarakhand. The question of neglecting them does not arise,” Rawat said.
Three days ago, the state announced a monthly pension for all women statehood agitators, including even those who had not attained the age of 60 years. Over 1,000 women agitators will be benefited by this decision.
Statehood agitator Harindra Bhandari said, “We are thrilled with the budget proposal – it will help us lead a better life.”