Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 20: Various Kashmiri Pandit bodies have expressed their concern over charging of electricity tariff on migrants living in various camps at Jammu and termed it a wrong decision.
In their separate statements they urged the Government to rescind the decision immediately.
President Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC) Kundan Kashmiri while expressing his dismay over the decision said that instead of taking steps to rehabilitate the community leading an exiled life for last over 30 years the UT Government has put a burden of power tariff which they are unable to pay out of meager cash relief.
He said when in last over 30 years the successive Governments had taken the decision not to charge electricity tariff to people in exile, how the present Government has taken the decision in huff. Instead of taking steps to rehabilitate the displaced people, Government day in and day out is putting them to hardships, he added.
This is a happiest news for displaced people from Valley on the eve of Maha Shivratri from the UT Government said Sunil Pandita a social activist from Jagti township.
He said for over last 30 years the Government never issued such order knowing fully the condition of displaced people from Valley who have lost their entire business, property, farming etc. Even the houses of maximum people were razed to ground or were damaged due to vagaries of weather over the years. He said it was because of the failure of Government that Pandits are leading an exiled life for over three decades and successive Governments failed to rehabilitate them and now they are even trying to deprive them of small concessions given to the community by the Government.
Rakesh Handoo national spokesperson J&K National United Front (JKNUF) while opposing the decision demanded that the order be immediately rescinded as displaced Pandits are not in a position to pay the power tariff out of the meager cash relief. He said instead of solving the problems of the community to which Government has turned a blind eye, it was adding to their woes by such orders.
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