Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: Fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of leader of poor and down-trodden in this hour of crisis, former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla today continued distributing ration and other necessary items among needy and poor families of Gandhi Nagar Constituency at Panchayat Bathindi Ward-74, Sunjwan, Narwal Bala, Bermini, Sunjwan Harijan Basti, Haji Colony, Gujjar Colony and Chacha Chowk.
Prominent among those who accompanied Bhalla included Corporator Sobhat Ali, Sarpanch Hafiz Ullah, Bittu Sharma, Block President Jatinder Singh Chib, DCC General Secretary Urban Aman Bawa DCC General Secretary Urban Jatin Vashisht, Iqbal Singh, GS Sodhi, Gagan Bral, Naseem Ali, Razak Ali, Mohd Yakoob, Ch. Putto, Panch Mustaq, Parveen Akhtar, khadim Husain, Sanjay Gupta Murli and Rohit Choudhary.
Speaking on the occasion, Bhalla said that lockdown was not vacation time to move out, but to stay at home.
“This should be understood by all citizens. At the Government level, more isolation wards should be set up and suspected patients should not be given a chance to escape. Helpline numbers should be operational at all times and hospitals should be functional 24×7. The police should act against those going out of their homes without reason. Action against fake news senders should also be taken,” Bhalla maintained.
He said, “When the outbreak is posing a massive challenge, media is playing an important role in combating the deadly virus. Without the media, people would not have understood the situation. It made people aware and helped to spread an appeal to the public to stay at home. Media persons have been giving us an update about the pandemic, without thinking about their own safety. It is because of the media, people from different religions, castes and regions have come together to fight against Coronavirus and have understood the importance of hygiene and health.”
Former Minister urged administration to put in place advance arrangements for proper availability of power, drinking water, essential supplies, sanitation and other arrangements to effectively face Covid-19 lockdown.
He demanded Govt to ensure complete synergy between the civil administrations and Police so that people do not face any inconvenience and urged district administrations across J&K to remain alert and cautious and do not allow any anti-social element to create any law and order issue.
Bhalla demanded Government of India and J&K Government to quickly make concrete plans and allocate funds and distribution mechanism for underprivileged section of the society who will suffer the most during this period without any discrimination.