Gurez residents seek advance ration

Bandipora, Sep 03: Residents of Gurez valley in north Kashmir's Bandipora district have demanded that the administration provide them with advanced ration, given the valley's tough weather conditions and the distance from ration stores.

"Until a few months back, we were getting advance ration for at least four to five months," said Abdul Raheem Lone, a local resident.

However, for the past two months, the government has been providing the valley residents, who are mostly living below the poverty line, with ration on a monthly basis.

Locals say this has created an extra burden on scores of villagers who live kilometres away from ration stores.

Raheem said some locals have to travel four to eight kilometres to fetch ration, "which, given Gurez's weather conditions and lack of transportation, has created an extra burden."

Officials, he said, are expressing helplessness, suggesting that the government is not dumping advanced ration at the stores.

With the approaching cold weather conditions, Raheem said fetching ration will be a "Herculean task" for all of Gurez, which includes Dawar, Tulail, and Bagtore regions, as the valley remains mostly draped under snow during winter months.

Notably, the administration dumps advanced ration and other material for winter months in Gurez as it gets cut off from the rest of the region via road.

Raheem said the administration should revive the advanced ration policy and not make people suffer in winters.