After the killlngs of two UP workers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district has increased the fear of agriculturalists in Kashmir. They are driven by the fear of fleeing of non-local labourers. Manish Kumar and Ram Sagar of UP died after terrorists hurled grenades inside their room.
Industrialists and fruit growers are feared by the migration of non-local labourers and said that if labour migrated it will stop various industrial works.
Fayaz Ahmad Malik, president, Sopore Fruit Mandi, told The Tribune that they are feared by the horrifying killings which may lead fleeing of labourers which will adversely impact Kashmir. Further Malik added that mainly non-local workers were employed in fruit markets for lifting and packing and they have assured workers that if they feel unsafe,they will provide them safer places to stay.
The J&K Labour Department has no exact numbers of the migrant workers employed in different industries in the Valley, reportedly. Abdul Rashid War, Labour Commissioner of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, said that there was no Act that said the department had to register the migrant labourers as workers have to register voluntarily and informed that interstate workers coming to work here are supposed to be registered through their contractor or the employee.