SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday inaugurated 576 flats for the Kashmiri Pandit employees recruited under the prime minister’s package, and said 2,000 more such accommodations will be ready by the end of this year.
As L-G Sinha inaugurated the newly-constructed flats at Baramulla, Bandipora, Ganderbal and Shopian in Valley, the PM package Pandit employees said most of the migrant employees are serving in Anantnag in south Kashmir and Srinagar in central Kashmir, where the accommodation is needed the most as the employees are living in rented accommodations in those areas.
The transit accommodations have been a long-pending demand of the Kashmiri Pandit employees under the PM’s package. The demand gained momentum after the killing of an employee, Rahul Bhat, in May last year.
“The government is sensitive to issues of Kashmiri Pandits and understands their pain. We are working with the right intent to complete the construction of residential accommodations on priority,” Sinha said.
The Lt Governor said the administration has taken various initiatives to expedite the process of construction of housing units for PM Package employees and 2,000 more flats will be completed by December 2023.
The PM Package Pandit employees resumed their duties in the Valley in March this year after over eight months of strike following the killing of Pandit employee Rahul Bhat by militants inside Tehsildar’s office in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on May 12 last year.
The Pandit employees had gone on strike after the killing of Bhat to demand relocation to Jammu in view of their security concerns. Ranjan Jotshi vice president All Migrant Displaced Employees Association Kashmir said handing over 576 flats to PM package employees is a welcome step.
Around 40 per cent of nearly 5,000 PM package employees serving in the Valley are posted in Anantnag in south Kashmir and Srinagar in central Kashmir. “About 700-800 Pandit employees posted in Anantnag are living in rented accommodation. Similarly, about 1,000 Pandit employees are living in rented accommodation in Srinagar,” Jotshi said.
He said the government should take immediate steps to provide accommodation to those employees living in rented accommodation in view of the security concerns. “The government had assured us to accommodate the employees in hotels and address their security concerns. But this proposal, it seems, has been shelved,” Jotshi said.
After the return of Pandit employees in March, the government had decided to lodge them in hotels to ensure their safety and security. “The government should take care of accommodation and ensure
safety and security of each and every Pandit employee,” added Jotshi.
Meanwhile, the Lt Governor also spoke on progressive reforms introduced to boost infrastructure, employment generation and ease of living in the Union territory. Presently, domestic and foreign companies are willing to invest in Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
There are more than Rs 1.25 lakh crore worth of highway and tunnel projects are going on in the UT. Increased flight operations in both Jammu and Srinagar airports and improved road and rail connectivity have brought J&K closer to the world, Sinha said.