Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 16: J&K Apni Trade Union (ATU) UT president Ajaz Kazmi today demanded ex-gratia relief in favour of the fire victims of vegetable market of Satwari.
In a statement issued here, Ajaz Kazmi termed the overnight fire on April 14 as extremely unfortunate wherein various shops and vending-carts were burned down to ashes.
“The loss to the property is immense and those who own shops and carts at vegetable market in Satwari-Jammu belong to very humble backgrounds that have lost everything to this ominous fire,” he said.
He appealed to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to immediately dole out ex-gratia in favour of the fire victims so that the sufferings of their families are mitigated at an earliest.
“The Government must ensure that no inconvenience is faced by the fire victims. I also request Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to direct the concerned departments to dispatch teams to the spot to assess the losses so that ex-gratia is released promptly in the favour of affected shop owners and cart-vendors,” he asserted.
Kazmi demanded a comprehensive probe into the incident while stressing that the administration must take concrete steps for the temporary rehabilitation of the fire victims, so that they can resume their daily businesses at an earliest.