Uttarakhand draws high court’s fire for Covid norms violating rights

NAINITAL: A thin tarpaulin sheet for a roof, a few blankets for cover and stacks of hay that are fodder for cattle and beds for them. For almost a month, 20 forest-dependent Van Gujjar families have been forced to live under the open skies after being banned from entering the Govind Wildlife Sanctuary citing the pandemic. On Tuesday, the Uttarakhand high court slammed the state government and the forest department for violating their human rights and ordered immediate steps to ensure their free movement.
“You cannot reduce humans to less than an animal existence… They are not animals. They are as much human beings as you and I are and they have the same fundamental rights and human rights,” Chief Justice RS Chauhan said.
The bench has asked Uttarkashi district magistrate Mayur Dikshit and deputy director of the sanctuary Komal Singh to ensure all families are tested for Covid immediately and allowed in if they test negative.
Arjun Kasana, an activist, informed the court about the plight of Van Gujjars by filing an affidavit in a bunch of petitions pending before the HC. In one of the photos he submitted, a child is seen sleeping next to a dead buffalo. The chief justice asked, “How can you possibly reduce human beings to this low level of existence?” He said he is “surprised at the adamancy” of the deputy director.