Uttarakhand Demands “Uttar” From Powers That Be And The Society At Large

Uttarakhand Demands “Uttar” From Powers That Be And The Society At Large

Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist in the Vanantara Resort near Rishikesh, was found dead on the morning of September 24 in the Chilla Canal, a waterbody near the resort.

She was found missing on September 18 from her workplace. Her parents had to run from pillar to post for 4 days before the Revenue Police in Uttarakhand even agreed to file a missing persons report.

Even after filing the report, the police did not take any action on the matter until there was hue and cry on the social media and public opinion started forming against the present political dispensation, the BJP.

The reason for this dereliction of duty is obvious. The resort is owned by Pulkit Arya, the son of a powerful BJP leader named Vinod Arya who was also a minister in the state cabinet of the present BJP government in Uttarakhand. The minister used his position and influence to delay the registration of the FIR. 

The government in order to save its skin has distanced itself from the accused and to portray the image of an efficient government has ordered the illegal parts of the resort to be bulldozed.

Many see this as an attempt to destroy evidence to subvert justice as these parts could have provided new insights into the whole incident.

Ankita, hailing from a poor background in the village of Pauri Garhwal, had joined the resort as a receptionist at a meagre salary of Rupees 10,000/= per month in order to support her parents financially just 3 weeks ago.

She was being pressurized to provide “extra services” to some VIP clients, which is a euphemism for satisfying the sexual needs of these tourists.

The fact that the resort had become a den of vice providing sexual favors to clients has been ascertained by the “WhatsApp” chat that Ankita had with her friend.

Former employee of the resort have now come out in the open and have alleged that women staffers were regularly forced to serve the lecherous tourists who thronged the resort because they were promised those services by the owners.

They have also alleged that Pulkit would abuse the woman staffers using vulgar language. Pulkit was reported to be an incorrigible womanizer by these employee.

Being a girl of strong character, Ankita vehemently refused to give in to these demands of Pulkit and threatened to expose the macabre dance of drugs and prostitution that was being carried out in the resort in the guise of promoting tourism and hospitality in the state.

This enraged Pulkit Arya who along with his manager Saurabh Bhaskar and friend Ankit Gupta took her to the canal side and during an altercation pushed her into the canal where she drowned.

All three have confessed to the crime after being arrested and confronted by the police. Pulkit Arya is notorious in the area for his misdeeds. After this incident, even his previous sins of commission are now tumbling out of his closely-guarded closet. Previously, nobody could check him because of the clout he enjoyed for being the son of a powerful politician. What the police could not do, social media has done. There is outrage across the state against the culprits.

The chain of events that led to the unfortunate death of Ankita will be known only after the full investigation, but the incident has raised several questions which need to be addressed.

The first issue is the growth model that Uttarakhand has adopted for its economic prosperity. The state accorded the status of industry to the tourism sector in order to create jobs for the locals.

The state is thriving with opportunities in ecotourism, wellness tourism, religious tourism, adventure sports as well as has tremendous potential for hosting high-level business meetings and conferences.

In the absence of a regulatory mechanism, the sector has grown organically, and the loopholes in the system have been exploited by vested interests for filthy lucre.

Resorts have mushroomed in stark violation of norms putting in jeopardy the ecological balance of the region as many of these stand on forest land and ecologically sensitive zones.

They cannot be demolished because the owners are politically connected, and in some cases, the politicians themselves own them as there is a lot of money to be made. The clout of owners like Vinod Arya is a case in point, who use their political power to prevent demolition of such illegal resorts.

There has been a massive investment in resorts and hotels even by outsiders ever since the state government diluted provisions in the law enabling the lands owned by the local people to be used for such purposes in blatant disregard to local culture and sensitivities.

Ankita’s death has aroused the consciousness of the state and has triggered serious introspection about the tourism model adopted by the state and its social costs. It has also brought into sharp focus the issue of women’s safety at the workplace in general.

What kind of tourism should be promoted and which ones discouraged? An economic model needs to be put in place by the bureaucracy and political leadership of the state in consultation with the citizenry that takes into account the well-being and inclusion of locals.  Otherwise, it will be too late to mend, and these heinous crimes would become routine.

Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist in the Vanantara Resort near Rishikesh, was found dead on the morning of September 24 in the Chilla Canal, a waterbody near the resort.

She was found missing on September 18 from her workplace. Her parents had to run from pillar to post for 4 days before the Revenue Police in Uttarakhand even agreed to file a missing persons report.

Even after filing the report, the police did not take any action on the matter until there was hue and cry on the social media and public opinion started forming against the present political dispensation, the BJP.

The reason for this dereliction of duty is obvious. The resort is owned by Pulkit Arya, the son of a powerful BJP leader named Vinod Arya who was also a minister in the state cabinet of the present BJP government in Uttarakhand. The minister used his position and influence to delay the registration of the FIR. 

The government in order to save its skin has distanced itself from the accused and to portray the image of an efficient government has ordered the illegal parts of the resort to be bulldozed.

Many see this as an attempt to destroy evidence to subvert justice as these parts could have provided new insights into the whole incident.

Ankita, hailing from a poor background in the village of Pauri Garhwal, had joined the resort as a receptionist at a meagre salary of Rupees 10,000/= per month in order to support her parents financially just 3 weeks ago.

She was being pressurized to provide “extra services” to some VIP clients, which is a euphemism for satisfying the sexual needs of these tourists.

The fact that the resort had become a den of vice providing sexual favors to clients has been ascertained by the “WhatsApp” chat that Ankita had with her friend.

Former employee of the resort have now come out in the open and have alleged that women staffers were regularly forced to serve the lecherous tourists who thronged the resort because they were promised those services by the owners.

They have also alleged that Pulkit would abuse the woman staffers using vulgar language. Pulkit was reported to be an incorrigible womanizer by these employee.

Being a girl of strong character, Ankita vehemently refused to give in to these demands of Pulkit and threatened to expose the macabre dance of drugs and prostitution that was being carried out in the resort in the guise of promoting tourism and hospitality in the state.

This enraged Pulkit Arya who along with his manager Saurabh Bhaskar and friend Ankit Gupta took her to the canal side and during an altercation pushed her into the canal where she drowned.

All three have confessed to the crime after being arrested and confronted by the police. Pulkit Arya is notorious in the area for his misdeeds. After this incident, even his previous sins of commission are now tumbling out of his closely-guarded closet.

Previously, nobody could check him because of the clout he enjoyed for being the son of a powerful politician. What the police could not do, social media has done. There is outrage across the state against the culprits.

The chain of events that led to the unfortunate death of Ankita will be known only after the full investigation, but the incident has raised several questions which need to be addressed.

The first issue is the growth model that Uttarakhand has adopted for its economic prosperity. The state accorded the status of industry to the tourism sector in order to create jobs for the locals.

The state is thriving with opportunities in ecotourism, wellness tourism, religious tourism, adventure sports as well as has tremendous potential for hosting high-level business meetings and conferences.

In the absence of a regulatory mechanism, the sector has grown organically, and the loopholes in the system have been exploited by vested interests for filthy lucre.

Resorts have mushroomed in stark violation of norms putting in jeopardy the ecological balance of the region as many of these stand on forest land and ecologically sensitive zones.

They cannot be demolished because the owners are politically connected, and in some cases, the politicians themselves own them as there is a lot of money to be made. The clout of owners like Vinod Arya is a case in point, who use their political power to prevent demolition of such illegal resorts.

There has been a massive investment in resorts and hotels even by outsiders ever since the state government diluted provisions in the law enabling the lands owned by the local people to be used for such purposes in blatant disregard to local culture and sensitivities.

Ankita’s death has aroused the consciousness of the state and has triggered serious introspection about the tourism model adopted by the state and its social costs. It has also brought into sharp focus the issue of women’s safety at the workplace in general.

What kind of tourism should be promoted and which ones discourage? An economic model needs to be put in place by the bureaucracy and political leadership of the state in consultation with the citizenry that takes into account the well-being and inclusion of locals.  Otherwise, it will be too late to mend, and these heinous crimes will become routine.

edited and proofread by nikita sharma