Surendranagar police on Thursday placed Congress MLA from Dasada under house arrest after he threatened to protest during the Chief Minister’s visit to Patdi Taluka if local area demands were not met.
MLA Naushad Solanki was denied entry to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s project inauguration. However, his supporters were successful in demonstrating at the helipad site with black balloons and flags.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Naushad Solanki demanded that the Chief Minister address 20 remaining issues in his constituencies, such as announcing a Rs 250 crore package for the Paddhar community of Scheduled Tribes in the Nalsarovar area, as well as for the OBC, Scheduled Caste, and Maldhari communities.
He had even demanded to take back thousands of hectares of unutilized land allotted to the Hindu Salt Company. There is currently no mechanism in place to regulate the price of salt produced by salt pan workers (Agariyas). His demand is for the state should announce a minimum support price for salt produced by pan workers.
He has also urged that trains should be resumed up to the Kharaghoda (Little Rann of Kutch) area, where salt pan workers must use their own vehicles or hire vehicles to reach the salt pans. Solanki stated that trains ran during the Congress regime.
Locals have long sought the creation of a separate Nalsarovar taluka from Dasada, but their demands have not been met.
The state government has been gracious enough to establish four Community Health Centres in Dasada taluka; however, none of these CHCs have specialist doctors. As a result, locals have to consult private doctors in Surendranagar city, which is costlier for them, said Solanki.
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