J-K politicians condemn demolishing of shops at migrant camp in Jammu

Srinagar, Nov 21: They cried, grabbed the legs of journalists present there, and expressed their desperateness. The aged men and women, over a couple of them, mourned over the loss of their livelihoods.

On Wednesday, officials from Jammu Development Authority (JDA) burst into the Muthi Camp in Jammu which houses hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits who fled to Jammu during '90s political turmoil in the valley.

Sources told Greater Kashmir that the grocery shops run by some Kashmiri Pandits were demolished unnoticed on Wednesday, leaving the migrants without any livelihood.

"Where will we go, we will put our children on fire, we have lost everything," said a sobbing aged man as he was given water to make him relax.

"There is our Ashram on the back side of the camp, the people who went there and also the residents of the camp purchased from these shops, sustaining their livelihoods. But everything is gone now," said a Kashmiri Pandit youth who wished not to be named.

"I think my heart will stop and I will collapse. What have they done to us," asked another man who was seen pleading to the reporters present at the spot.

After videos of the victims' misery were shared widely on the Internet, top Kashmiri politicians condemned the administration's 'heartbreaking move.'

Taking to her official X-handle, the former J-K chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said, this is another blow to a community that has endured unimaginable hardships for decades.

Quoting the video, Mufti wrote, "Heartbreaking scenes emerge as Kashmiri Pandit shopkeepers stand helplessly by the rubble of their demolished shops, reportedly brought down by the JDA without prior notice."

What began as targeted demolitions of assets of tribal community has now been extended to Kashmiri Pandits, further deepening their sense of alienation and loss, wrote Mufti.

She urged the Union Territory's CM Omar Abdullah to intervene in what she called "a grave injustice."

Another senior Kashmiri politician and Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari said, JDA should not have demolished the temporary shops belonging to Kashmiri Pandit refugees at Muthi Camp, Jammu.

These small establishments, Bukhari wrote on his official X-handle, have been the primary source of livelihood for these poor migrants for over three decades.

"If demolition was necessary, the administration should have first arranged alternatives to protect their livelihoods. Such actions are disappointing, especially under an elected government that is expected to prioritize the welfare of its citizens," Bukhari wrote.

He urged the administration to ensure justice for the affected shop owners.

"I urge the administration to ensure justice for the affected shop owners by either permitting them to rebuild their shops or providing them with suitable alternatives to sustain their livelihoods," Bukhari added.

Greater Kashmir tried to reach VC JDA on numbers shared on JDA's website but was unable to connect. The story would be updated if and when there is a response from JDA.