By IANS,
Mumbai : Renowned social crusader Anna Hazare, who has been honoured for his outstanding public service, is set to go on hunger strike from Aug 15 for an indefinite period at his village in Maharashtra to press for action on his 21-point charter of demands.
A Magsaysay Award winner, Hazare will resort to a hunger strike at his ecologically self-sustained model village Ralegan-Siddhi, around 350 km from here, said his aide Anil Sharma.
His charter of demands submitted to the state government includes clearance of deposits in the cooperative sector and permission to implement voluntary prohibition in villages that want it.
Hazare, a former army man, was not available for comment since he has been observing a vow of silence (maun vrat) since June 11 in support of his demands.
The 70-year old social leader, often described as the ‘conscience keeper of Maharashtra’, has been keeping indifferent health for the past one week, his aide said.
Besides age-related problems, Hazare has also complained of extreme stress and fatigue since he has to make efforts to communicate in writing with daily visitors and admirers since the past 55 days.
Though Hazare has written to Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, concerned state ministers and top bureaucrats, he has not yet received any reply on his charter of demands, Sharma said.
This has compelled him to go ahead with his hunger strike from Independece Day, after hoisting the tricolour in his village, Sharma added.
Hazare was one of the three recipients of the World Bank’s 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service.