Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Vice- President and former MLC Ghulam Nabi Monga Saturday expressed serious concern over the deteriorating condition of stranded Kashmiri’s outside in wake of Covid-19 lockdown and urged administration to take immediate steps for bringing them back to home.
Congress leader said thousands of Kashmiris which includes students, laborers, traders, critically ill patients and their attendants are stuck in different parts of country, especially in north Indian states. He said the miseries of these stranded people amid Corona virus pandemic and lockdown have worsened.
“Even those who are stranded in Jammu are not being permitted to come back to home. They are stranded in their own state, but irony is that the government is not able to bring them back, while several states have sent special buses to evacuate stranded passengers from other states. Special transport arrangements must be made for them and after their return, due COVID-19 protocols must be followed”, Monga demanded.
He also expressed serious concern over reports of Kashmiri laborers being attacked in Himachal Pradesh. “At a time when the attention of whole world is to combat the deadly virus, some fanatics are targeting Kashmiris which is unfortunate and highly condemnable. It is duty of the government to ensure safety and security of Kashmiri’s stranded outside J&K”, the Congress leader urged.
He said the government has announced food and shelter for the stranded laborers, but ground reports reveal that these workers are facing scarcity of food and shelter. “They have exhausted their earnings and are facing immense difficulties. A lot of them don’t have much money and can’t access anymore. There is no work available for them to earn. Some of these stranded laborers are surviving on one meal a day and others are completely at the mercy of expected good Samaritans,” he said.
“At a time when the entire country is fighting a global pandemic from inside their homes, with their families, these poor people should not be left to rot in faraway places where there is shortage of food and even water,” Monga added.
The Congress leader also said that due to rising temperatures in most of the states outsides J&K, the stranded Kashmir’s are facing another crisis. “Without undermining the efforts to combat COVID-19, a serious view should be taken to facilitate the return of these stranded persons. Recent guidelines by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs are disappointing and they need a review so that process for return of this sizable section of population is addressed,” he said.
