Omar Says No Kashmiri Pandit Is Homeless, Criticizes Protest Over Accommodation
Srinagar, Sep 10, KNT: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday criticized the Kashmiri Pandit employees who staged a protest in Srinagar over transit accommodation, saying that protesting over what he described as immaterial issues had become a trend and asserting that no Kashmiri Pandit was homeless or without accommodation in Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters, Omar said all transit accommodation constructed by the government in the Valley was meant for Kashmiri Pandit employees and maintained that the claim that Kashmiri Pandits had no accommodation in Kashmir was “utterly wrong.”
“If there are a few people who do not have accommodation, they can approach me,” Omar said.
The Chief Minister’s remarks came a day after Kashmiri Pandit employees appointed under the Prime Minister’s Package staged a protest at Press Colony in Srinagar, demanding early allotment of transit accommodation and a permanent solution to their housing concerns.
The protesting employees had said they had been waiting for government accommodation and were dependent on rented houses. They set September 30 as a deadline for the administration, warning that they would launch an indefinite protest and hunger strike if their demand was not addressed.
Some protesters specifically demanded allotment of completed transit accommodation. A report on the protest quoted employees as saying that 26 buildings had been completed and should be allotted to eligible employees.
The government has been constructing transit accommodation for Kashmiri migrant employees under a programme that envisaged 6,000 flats in the Valley. At a review meeting in March, the administration had said that 4,128 flats had been completed, while the remaining 1,872 were to be completed in phases.
Omar, however, rejected the broader claim that Kashmiri Pandits were without accommodation in Kashmir and said individual employees facing an accommodation problem could approach him directly. [KNT]
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