*Families approach Distt Admn for their rescue
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Apr 13: At least 1400 members of labour class hailing from remote Dudu and Basantgarh Sub Divisions of district Udhampur are struck in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka etc and their families have approached the District Administration through concerned BDC Chairpersons and Sarpanches for rescue and help them in their return to homes.
Reports said that the people of this remote and mountainous belt of Udhampur are mostly working as labourers or performing other petty jobs to feed them and their families away from their homes, as hardly any agriculture land is available in the area. And moreover, where ever some land is available, only one crop ( maize) is sown in this entire belt. Therefore, the youth and middle aged people of these two mountainous Sub Divisions of district Udhampur, mostly go outside for work every year.
Due to sudden announcement of countrywide lockdown and suspension of all the modes of transport, these workers/ labourers have been struck at various places and are facing starvation. Their families are receiving frequent calls from them, seeking help from the J&K UT Administration for their rescue and arrangement of transport from respective places to homes.
Block Development Committee, (BDC) Chairman, Basantgarh, Kewal Parihar said that about 800 persons from his Block including Panchayats like Lodhra, Khaned, Keya, Majouri etc are stuck in Agra (UP), Mumbai, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bengaluru, Harayana and Himachal Pradesh. They are facing starvation and are unable to return to their homes. Parihar said he and some Sarpanches took up the matter with SDM, Basantgarh and DC Udhampur, Dr Piyush Singla and sought their help for their return and possible assistance at their respective places.
SDM, Basantgarh, Vivek Modi, when contacted, said the lists from various Panchayats were provided by the Sarpanches and the same have been forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner. He added that many people of his area often go outside for work as there is no job available and moreover, agriculture activity is negligible here. He said Administration has taken up the matter with respective DMs of various States.
Modi disclosed that 18 such labourers hailing from Basantgarh had been put under quarantine at Kathua. They completed their 14 days there and tomorrow they are reaching here in SRTC bus. After coming from outside, they will be again put under home quarantine, the SDM said.
Sarpanch Latti, Kasturi Lal Gupta and Sarpanch Dudu- Dev Raj said that about 600 labourers from Dudu Sub Division including Marothi, Pattangarh, Panchount, Sira and Jakhed etc are presently stuck at various places across the country. They said while 5 youth are stuck in Leh and 50 in Himachal Pradesh, the rest of the people are in UP, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Maharashtra. They revealed that they were receiving phone calls from various areas.
“Many people are facing starvation. They have lost their work and want to come to their homes. The family members of these people are exerting pressure for their rescue from various areas. The matter has been taken up with the SDM Dudu, Pardip Singh Chib and DC, Udhampur Dr Piyush Singla, they added.
They said every year, these people go outside for work during October and return in middle of March. This is snow bound area and only one crop of maize is sown in this belt the whole year. The people who are stuck outside will not be able to sow maize crop. The families are worried for this reason also. They said the Deputy Commissioner Udhampur has assured all possible help.
District Magistrate (DM), Udhampur, Dr Singla when contacted said that he had received such requests from various mountainous and remote areas of his district including Dudu-Basantgarh.
“We have sought lists of such people from various SDMs/Tehsildars through Sarpanches and BDC Chairpersons. Roughly, 2000 people from my district will be outside. Though there are strict instructions from Union Govt to restrict all the people at their respective places till the lockdown is over, yet he has taken up the issue with several concerned DMs for providing all possible help/ food grains to these people from J&K. I have spoken to DM Agra, DM at Delhi and Rajasthan. All possible help is being rendered to them,” Dr Singla maintained.
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