Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 4: Gujjar leader Shamsher Hakla Poonchi today urged the Government of India to establish a tribal developmental council with financial powers for the upliftment of underprivileged Gujjar and Bakarwal communities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Poonchi also demanded a special financial package and political reservations for the tribal population spread over 20 districts of the Union Territory and mostly residing in mountainous and far flung areas near forests and the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB).
Advocating a special package for the permanent settlement of nomadic Gujjar and Bakarwals, he said lakhs of people from both the communities are facing hardships due to lack of facilities like road communication, electricity, water supply and proper medical and educational infrastructure.
“There is a need for establishment of boarding schools on the pattern of Navodya Vidyalaya for Gujjar and Bakarwal children in all the 20 districts,” he said in a statement. He also called for a special recruitment drive for educated unemployed youth of the communities, including of Gojri language in the 8th Schedule of the constitution and a special survey for finding the exact population of Gujjars and Bakarwals living in Jammu and Kashmir.
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