Karsog agriculturist sent back, moves High Court
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service
Shimla, May 2
This will possibly be the lone case during lockdown where a resident of Karsog in Mandi district, who arrived at his home with a curfew pass, was ordered to move back to Uttarakhand after living in his native place for two days.
Agriculturist, with expertise on apple cultivation, Vikram Singh Rawat has filed a petition in the High Court against the arbitrary orders of the Karsog SDM for ordering his return to Pauri Garhwal despite having fulfilled all guidelines.
To ensure that he leaves Karsog, he was accompanied by police personnel till the border at Kelodhar, where he was left at 11 pm. With nowhere to go, he arranged an e-pass from the DM, Pauri Garhwal, and drove to reach Uttarakhand.
In his petition, Rawat has said he started from Janped in Pauri Garhwal on April 21 after obtaining permission from the District Magistrate through an e-pass and to return to his home at Kalasan Nursery Farm in Karsog. On arrival at home, he informed the SDM, Karsog, and Up-pradhan of the panchayat. A sticker of “home under quarantine” was also affixed outside his house.
However, on April 23, the SDM ordered that he should return to Uttarakhand.
The reasons cited by the SDM said nobody was allowed to enter Mandi district without the permission of the DC and that he had a travel history from Italy. “I returned to India on March 6 and remained in Uttarakhand for more than a month before arriving home,” he pleaded.
