Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 11: Apni Party president and former Minister, Syed Mohammed Altaf Bukhari has expressed concern over the eviction notices being served to the farmers in Kathua and other districts of Jammu province.
Bukhari was speaking at a joining programme in which Sumb block (Samba), Blatter Panchayat’s Sarpanch, Suraj Parkash Verma joined Apni Party in presence of Altaf Bukhari.
On this occasion, provincial president, Jammu, Manjit Singh, SC State coordinator, Bodh Raj Bhagat, and others were present.
Welcoming him into the party, Bukhari hoped that the party would be strengthened at the grass root level with the joining of the leader like Suraj Prakash Verma.
He said that Verma, who is a prominent Other Backward Class (OBC) leader, should fight for the cause of people.
He assured all support of the party for the cause of OBC people and demanded a 27 % reservation quota for OBCs in J&K at par with the rest of the country.
When informed about the notices being served by the administration in Kathua’s Hiranagar and other districts of Jammu province, he said the party stands with the farmers and neglected class of society.
He condemned the unjustified notices being served to the people in Kathua and other districts which have triggered resentment against the move of the concerned administration.
“The Government should take action against the big land grabbers. But the poor farmers should not be made to suffer who have no other means of livelihood. The attempt to displace the people from the land will make them homeless and hence the decision to evict them must be reviewed,” he said.
He said that the Government should reconsider the issue and review the entire process considering the humanitarian issues.
Expressing his concern over the poor health infrastructure in rural areas in J&K, he said that the major health institutions too lack specialized doctors.
“Many of the posts of the specialized doctors are still unfilled and infrastructure still needs to be upgraded. The Government must act to restore the confidence of the people in the health sector by providing better health care facilities,” he said.
He said that the administration has failed to redress issues but the bureaucracy has given rise to the problems of the common man.
“The people are angry and alienation is growing among them because there is no elected Government in J&K. The Statehood should be restored before the Assembly polls as the people have lost their hope,” he added.