Gupta leads massive protest against power, water crisis; warns Govt

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 16: A massive demonstration was held under the leadership of former Union Minister and MLA Jammu West Assembly Segment, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta by the activists of various organizations in front of Press Club here today against the erratic power and water supply in Jammu region in general and Jammu city in particular.
Registering their protest against the Government’s failure to maintain the water and power supply, which has led to the miseries of common man in this hot season when temperature has touched 45 degrees and above, the protestors warned to intensify the discrimination to which Jammu has been subjected to would not be stopped immediately.
Shouting slogans against the Coalition Government the protestors urged it to shun its anti Jammu policies.
MLAs Jagdish Raj Spolia, Master Lal Chand, Bharat Bhushan, Prof Garu Ram besides chairman JKDF, Anil Gupta, Chamber of Commerce and Industries general secretary, Arun Gupta also participated in the dharna.
Talking to reporters at the sidelights of the dharna, Prof Gupta lambasted the Government of giving a raw deal to Jammu and warned that this discrimination would not be tolerated now. It is a strange that soon after the offices were shifted to Summer Capital the Jammu was plunged into darkness. Besides the power crisis people were facing acute scarcity of drinking water also. The condition of roads is worst leading to traffic jams as NBCC has failed to complete the work in stipulated time due to Government’s ineptness, he added.
He wanted to know the reasons for the same. Does Government consider people of Jammu as second-class citizens who have no right to basic amenities of life.
Appealing the people of Jammu to be united, he said the Government till date has taken full advantage as the people of this region are not united. The way the social and trade organizations volunteered to participate in today’s dharna is an eye opener for the Government, he added.
Accusing the Government for taking the people of Jammu for granted Prof Gupta said that “we will be uniting force for Jammuites’’ . “The attitude of the Government will lead to public outcry , resentment and even the division of the State to which we have always opposed’’ . There is every apprehension that youth will take a banner of revolt if prevailing discrimination continues, he added.
Addressing the gathering, Prof. Gupta and others said that there were deliberate attempts to put the Jammuites to face problems like that of electricity, drinking water, sanitation, traffic jams and others of basic nature.
He pointed out that the power crisis has mysteriously developed immediately after the Darbar Move last month. Otherwise, the generation of Hydel Power increases in Jammu areas during summer days but it was intriguing that Jammu has been put to face power crises especially when there is scorching heat of the summer.
He further said that on one hand in power crisis has been created, on the other the people are being coerced to pay bigger electricity bills. On the contrary where there are bigger losses on account of electricity, there is no such coercion.
Others who addressed also included Murari Lal, Krishan Lal, Deepak Sharma, Arun Khanna, Surinder Sharma, Parshant Puri.