Appeals Govt for free ration to BPL; restoration of 4G internet
Jammu Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) President Altaf Bukhari on Monday emphasized for setting up a Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM) to stem spread of Coronavirus in J&K. In a statement, Bukhari appealed his party colleagues and cadres to work together to assess vulnerability of people in their respective areas and respond accordingly to mitigate economic impact of COVID-19. “In societies where the virus hits, it is deepening the consequences of inequality, pushing many of the burdens onto the underprivileged and marginalized sections of the society and lower economic strata. We should not expect everything from the government and should instead adopt a community based approach to tackle this pandemic,” Bukhari said. He said the community based disaster management warrants affluent classes to come forward and mitigate impact of identified hazards of this deadly disease and respond and rehabilitate their neighbors who are in dire need of help. “Social distancing does not mean that we will take care of our families alone while sitting indoors. In these hard times, we should not forget our social and moral responsibility to look after our poor neighbors whose livelihood has got worst hit by mandatory restrictions imposed by the government,” Bukhari said. He said there was a dire need to reach out to the daily rated workers, daily wagers, ITI skilled labourers, casual labourers, construction workers, vendors, and other sections of the society whose livelihood has been badly affected by the lockdown. “While these sections of the society will remain healthy by home confinement but they are suffering loss of income or healthcare as a result of quarantines and other measures, potentially on a sweeping scale. I appeal my party colleagues and cadres to come forward to help such affected families irrespective of their faith and beliefs,” he said. Bukhari demanded that all BPL beneficiaries be given free ration by the government through Public Distribution System and the government must ensure this ration was home delivered to the families in order to prevent jumbling at government depots and fair price shops. The JKAP President also urged the Centre to restore high speed mobile internet services in Jammu and Kashmir so as to enable people to keep themselves updated with the government advisories on prevention of COVID-19 on real time basis.
