Man locks himself in temple, demands village development

KANPUR: In a bizarre way of protest, a man locked himself in a Shiv temple at Jyotish village of Akbarpur Tehsil of Kanpur Dehat district.
The protester, identified as Ghanshyam Tiwari (40), who has been on 'maun -vrat,' demanded development of his village and to get his four- bigha land free from land grabbers. Tiwari said that he would come out only after chief minister Yogi Adityanath visits him and fulfill his demands.

The incident came to light after the villagers reached the temple to worship on second Monday of Shrawan month. Many villagers supported Tiwari over his demand for the development of the village. The matter was reported to the police after which the SHO, Akbarpur rushed to the spot along with his force. Other administrative officials also reached the spot and reported the matter to the district magistrate office. Social activists, too, reached the spot and tried to convince the man to come out.

According to a social activist Nirmala Mishra, Tiwari has been conveying his woes by writing them on a piece of paper. He has also stopped eating or drinking water. "When we tried to break in, he threatened us of killing himself. Every attempt to rescue him has proved futile. We are not aware what he has with him inside the temple," Mishra said and added, "Tiwari, through notes on paper complained that his village lacks basic amenities like good roads, adequate power infrastructure and proper sanitation. And every time we approach the authorities, they only gave us assurances." He said that he would only come out when chief minister Yogi Adityanath will visit him and fulfill his demands. "My son has been making rounds of the concerned authorities for a long time but nobody is paying heed to his demands," said Tiwari's mother, Neelam Devi. Some friends of Tiwari also tried to pacify him but in vain. Meanwhile, as soon as the news spread, a huge crowd thronged the temple.

The district officials including 'tehsildar' Rishikant Rajvanshi and local police are currently trying to rescue man.

"We have assured him that the village roads will be repaired soon, besides regarding other complaints of the man, we would apprise concerned departments," said Rajvanshi.