Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 11: Chairman of the National Panthers Party and MLA Ramnagar, Harshdev Singh has alleged that due to continuous firing from Pakistani side, a large number of people have got displaced but the affected people are not getting desired response from the State Government.
In a press statement issued here today, the NPP MLA said several precious lives were lost and many people were injured in Pakistani shelling. Thousands of people were dislocated and forced to take shelter at different school buildings, Panchayat Bhawans or temples etc. More than 1500 families are said to have been uprooted but they are not getting due attention from the Government. Their miseries are not being addressed properly.
While there is some calm on the border since last night but majority of the people have refused to return apprehending sudden unprovoked firing from Pakistani side. The villagers have expressed that unpredictable Pakistan can not be trusted any more. There is need to restore confidence among the people of this entire border belt in Kathua, Samba and Jammu.
Flaying the alleged callous approach of the Government towards the miserable plight of the border residents, Mr Singh called upon the Govt to honour its repeated commitments regarding provisions of the alternative sites for residential purposes. He castigated the Government for making false promises with the border people as no action had been taken by it for allotment of 5 marlas of land per family despite repeated announcements made in last over 12 years.
The NPP leader said that intensity of ceasefire violations increased after the visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief to India on the invitation of Narendra Modi. He said that it is something similar to the Pakistan’s Kargil misadventure which was followed by the historic goodwill visit of Atal Behari Vajpayee to Lahore in February 1999. Pakistan had always responded to Indian goodwill gestures with contempt and malice, the MLA maintained.