Congress leader Bhardwaj seeks immediate relief for Jammu flood victims
Samba, Sep 20: Jammu and Kashmir Congress Working President Mohinder Bhardwaj on Saturday accused the government of showing ‘total apathy’ toward people hit by recent floods in Jammu and demanded immediate relief and rehabilitation measures.
As per a statement, J&K Congress Working President and senior advocate Bhardwaj asked the government to immediately launch a comprehensive relief and rehabilitation programme to provide succour to people who have suffered extensive damage in the recent floods caused by incessant rains and cloudbursts.
Bhardwaj, who undertook an extensive tour of the Jammu and Samba district areas with a specific focus on the Vijaypur and Bishnah assembly constituencies, said the people are suffering due to the total apathy of the government and the LG administration in particular.
“The poor people of these areas are on the verge of starvation, as they have nothing to eat and cannot venture out to earn a livelihood in view of broken means of transportation and having been rendered homeless. No action has been taken by the government either to provide them food or repair infrastructure, particularly damaged houses,” he said.
He distributed dry rations and eatables at a number of places and assured the people of the Congress's unstinted support in this hour of crisis.
On the insistence of prominent social activists of Jammu, he arranged similar relief, which was distributed among the urban poor and those whose houses had collapsed in and around Jammu city.
Addressing gatherings, he asked the government to announce a plan based on long- and short-term measures to mitigate the sufferings of the people of the entire Jammu region. Provide them free rations and essentials immediately, and start repair of roads and bridges without any delay, apart from providing people the much-needed healthcare facilities.
Apart from this, a comprehensive survey should be conducted to assess the losses suffered by the farmers and the houses and property damaged in the rain.
The government should fully compensate farmers and others who have suffered losses in the reconstruction process to bring people's lives back on the rails, he added.
Bhardwaj criticised the elected MLAs of Jammu and Samba districts belonging to BJP for their studied silence and failure to build pressure on their government at the Centre and in the UT to provide immediate relief to the Jammu region.
More shockingly, the Centre is standing as a mute spectator as the economy of Jammu has collapsed, particularly due to the indefinite disruption of the Vaishnodevi yatra for reasons best known to the authorities concerned and the failure to restore train services even after 20 days of disruption.
The silence of BJP MPs and MLAs on this issue is a criminal act, as the survival of people, including the business community, is in danger.
This is reprehensible and condemnable. It shows complete failure of the Centre and the UT administration.
