Congress appeal to the government to sanction the package for the people of the Chenab Valley; distribution of relief on the pattern adopted in Leh, 2010 flood victims

Congress advised National Conference so called leaders against shedding crocodile tears.

Jammu, 03 August: - A moderate intensity earthquake, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale shook Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar and Doda districts and parts of the Valley today, a day after a similar quake hit the region.

In a joint statement issued here, Senior Congress Leader and MLA Inderwal G M Saroori, MLA Ramban Master Ashok Kumar, MLA Chenani Krishan Chander, MLC Naresh Kumar Gupta, MLC Sham Lal Bhagat, State Secretary JKPCC Thakur Jughal Bhandari, Block Presidents and Secretaries of both the districts including Mohammad Iqbal Keen, Ghulam Qadir Sheikh, Mohammad Iqbal Teli, Ch Abdul Rashid, Piyaray Lal Sharma, Akhtar Tatani, Sarfraz Khan, Asgar Khangi, Mushtaq Ahmed Hap, Mahinder Singh Parihar and others demanded that earthquake-hit Doda, Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir should be brought under the National School Safety Project (NSSP) that will help in mobilising resources in case of a natural disaster," they said. With an effective management plan, people can minimise the damage caused by these events," they added.

“The thrust has to be laid on the disaster management preparation. This area has witnessed many earthquakes and should be prepared for the disaster management,” Congress said. People are living in very bad conditions. They have lost their homes, animals and farms so we ask the Centre and State government to help the victims to survive," "People are starving and they are not being provided enough aid," they said.

The party Leaders said "Who's helping the victims? No one! They are left to die in the open. And now these rains are adding to their misiries,” Congress leaders added. They asked the district administrations of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban and Congress leaders of block and district level to reach out to affected people and mobilise resources for rebuilding the damaged infrastructure. “The Government at the highest level should come forward to help people.”

The Congress leaders said so called National Conference leaders are exposed before the public and they are playing with the sentiments of the sufferers for the personnel political interests. “The people know about the facts even National Conference in Erstwhile Doda district tends to remain ignorant and behave like an ostrich”, they maintained. They advised so called leaders National Conference not to shed crocodile tears.

 “The need of the hour is to reach out to the affected people (in Doda and Kishtwar) with relief and that is important, not a time to play to the galleries and politics with the sufferings of the people of Erstwhile Doda district,” Leaders said.

MLA Inderwal G M Saroori also alleged that state government has announced 3 month free ration in May 2013 for quake victims but yet not distributed in Tehsil Chatroo of district Kishtwar. He demanded immediately distribution of ration among the quakes victims.

The Congress leaders appealed the Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh, Chairperson UPA Smt. Sonia Gandhi to sanction the package for the people of the Chenab Valley and also requested the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to use his good office for getting the package sanctioned and distribution of relief on the pattern adopted in Leh, 2010 flood victims.

In May this year, Erstwhile district Doda witnessed 37 tremors. In July, there were as many as five quakes in Bhaderwah, Doda, Kishtwar areas. Five quakes and aftershocks have been witnessed in the same area in August.

It is pertinent to mention that state government has failed to learn a lesson from the devastating earthquake of October 8, 2005, which claimed over 80000 lives on both sides of Kashmir.