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Zulfikar Ali demands compensation for destruction by rains in Jammu

Last Updated on August 5, 2022 at 8:15 pm

Choudhary Zulfikar Ali, vice president of the Apni Party and a former cabinet minister, today expressed his concern over the destruction brought on by the severe rains in Jammu province, particularly in mountainous and isolated districts of the UT.

Ch. Zulfikar Ali said that the government should estimate damages and open up the jammed-up road in the province of Jammu. He voiced concern over the significant damage done to both private and public property in many regions, including Kathua, Udhampur, Chenab Valley, and Pir Panjal. He said that because many of residences of nomads in the higher reaches have been shut off from the rest of the world, the government should offer assistance and compensation to them.

The road connectivity in many locations has been interrupted owing to landslides, he claimed, and they need to be repaired as soon as possible. The excessive rains has caused huge destruction. He said that the authorities must dispatch rescue and medical teams to the province’s highest reaches. The nomads must get quick assistance since their horses, livestock, and cattle are in danger. He said that the bulk of the tribal population in the low-lying regions of Jammu, Samba, and Kathua reside along the banks of rivers, and that the rains had negatively impacted their property and livestock. He stated that there are reports of damage to the standing crops in Kathua.

Additionally, he demanded that the administration conduct an accurate assessment of the losses incurred by the populace as a result of the destruction of their homes and washing away of their agricultural land in some of the villages along the flooded Ujh River, as well as other nullahs in the upper reaches of the Kathua District and villages along the rivers. He said that the tribal group is among the hardest affected since they lost their standing crop, agricultural areas, and a number of homes. Urgent help and compensation should be provided by the civil authorities.

Further, he urged that if their homes are in danger owing to rising water levels, the tribals and locals who have lost everything in the Kathua floods be relocated to safer regions. According to him, the indigenous community live near riverbanks and they need the government to defend their lives, property, and livestock. Additionally, he sought fair compensation from the government for the deaths of two people caused by the collapse of a chicken farm in Kathua’s hamlet. He also voiced his profound dismay at the incident.