Encroachments on forest land: Stones pelted at cops during protest in Rishikesh
Protests erupted in Rishikesh as residents clashed with police and forest officials over a Supreme Court-ordered probe into the lease of reserved forest land. The demonstration, which blocked highways and railway tracks, was triggered by an investigation into the alleged illegal sale of 2,866 acres of government-owned forest land.
Image Credit: ANI
HARIDWAR: Violent clashes erupted on the outskirts of Rishikesh on Sunday during a survey of encroachments on forest land, following orders of the Supreme Court. The protesters pelted stones at police and blocked the railway tracks and roads leading to Rishikesh and Dehradun.
Four police personnel suffered injuries in the stone-pelting. Police used force to disperse the demonstrators and detained some of them. Senior officials rushed to the spot to handle the situation. Both rail and road traffic resumed in the evening.
According to officials, the survey was on for the past three days in Shivaji Nagar, Bapu Gram, Suman Vihar, Nadu Farm and Amit Gram, situated on the outer parts of Rishikesh city. Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh told TOI, "Sufficient police force was deployed to conduct the survey, but protesters blocked the road and rail traffic. When officials requested them to clear the roads and rail routes, they suddenly turned violent and started pelting stones. Four police personnel suffered injuries. Police soon managed to control the situation and dispersed the crowd. A case is being registered in the matter and a hunt is on to nab the protesters.
" Meanwhile, operations of four trains were affected, including Shri Ganga Nagar Express, Hemkund Express and Yoga Express, due to which passengers faced a lot of problems. Irked over the delay, passengers protested outside the station superintendent's office at Haridwar railway station. Rail traffic resumed late evening on Sunday. It may be noted that the Supreme Court recently took suo motu cognisance of large-scale encroachments and grabbing of protected forest land in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. The action arose during the hearing of a petition by Anita Kandwal challenging the Nov 14, 2025, Uttarakhand high court order upholding the eviction of illegally occupied forest land in Nov. Taking note of the allegations and materials placed on record, the SC bench observed that the situation warranted urgent judicial intervention and directed that the case be listed for further hearing on Jan 5, 2026. It also noted that the administration was conducting a survey of the said land to submit a compliance report.