HIRANAGAR: Senior vice president Apni Party Ghulam Hassan Mir has said that Lt Governor rule can’t be an alternative to an elected Government. “We believe that the Lt Governor rule cannot be an alternative to the elected Govt and elections should be held as early as possible in J&K,” said Ghulam Hassan Mir while speaking at a public meeting at Hiranagar in Kathua District.
The meeting was organized by former MLA Prem Lal. He said, “The people of Jammu and Kashmir are feeling disempowered with the downgrading of the erstwhile State into a Union Territory. The rules are being framed directly from Delhi without the consultation and it is annoying the people of J&K.” Mir said, “Apni Party demands that statehood should be restored and elections be held in J&K as people are suffering because of ignorance and bureaucratic attitude of the officials.” General secretary, Apni Party, Vikram Malhotra said that the Kandi area residents should be given RBA status. “The Govt should hold a fresh survey in Kandi areas and declare them RBA keeping in view their hardship and backwardness,” Malhotra said. He said that the normal life of International Border residents has been adversely affected due to shelling from across the border.
“The Govt should provide accommodation to the border residents to safer places or 5 marla plots as per the commitments made in the past so that they have not to take shelters in other homes,” he said. Provincial president Jammu Manjit Singh said that “farmers in plain areas of the border belt depend on agriculture. To water their fields, they are dependent upon the irrigation canal, while the tail end villages do not get canal water.” The Govt should review irrigation schemes and ensure the tail end villagers get enough canal water for their fields, he said. He said that the Ravi Canal irrigation canal opens on April 14 but the farmers have demanded that it should be opened by the end of March for the facility of the farmers so that they can water their fields. Manjit Singh said that the Govt should do insurance of the crop of the farmers in Kandi areas.
Ex-MLA Prem Lal highlighted the suffering of the local people of Hiranagar and said that the people in this border have been badly affected with the shelling from the border. Ex MLA Faqir Nath, OBC State Coordinator Madan Lal Chalotra, SC State Coordinator Bodh Raj Bhagat, Ajaz Kazmi, Sahil Mahajan, Gourav Kapoor.
