Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 22: People whose sheds on the banks of Jhelum at Habba Kadal were demolished in September last year by Irrigation and Flood Control Department along with Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), today staged protest demonstrations at Press Enclave in the City seeking rehabilitation.
The protesters said that they have been dwelling on these banks for decades, but last year the Government demolished our houses. “We’re homeless now. We were promised rehabilitation at the time of dismantling of our residential sheds but those promises are still unfulfilled,” said Abdul Gani Rah, a resident, whose house was also demolished.
Rafiq, 55, a widow, had a reason to come on streets. She pleaded “I have four daughters and an ailing son. I have no source of income and cannot afford even to pay rent to my landlord. I request authorities to fulfill their promises of rehabilitation at an earliest.”
The protesters appealed the Omar Abdullah, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Shailendra Kumar to look into the matter.
The protesters said if their genuine demands are not fulfilled on time, they along with their children will come out on roads as they have no other way to get their right to livelihood.