Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 14: Expressing his grave concern over the plight of nomadic Gujjars in J&K, Shamsheer Hakla Poonchi a prominent Gujjar leader and intellectual of J&K has urged Government of India to establish Tribal Development Council (TDC) with varied powers for the betterment and upliftment of the community.
In a statement issued here today, he also demanded special package for the Gujjar and Bakerwal community so that their basic needs and problems are solved which included electricity, drinking water, road connectivity and educational facilities.
Hakla also made an appeal to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi demanding inclusion of Gojri in the 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution which he said is an old demand of the community. He said the language is spoken by lakhs of people in the UT and hence it can’t be ignored its due status. Besides, he demanded reservation of seats in Assembly and Lok Sabha for the community.
He said in 31 Assembly segments and two Lok Sabha segments Gujjars are in majority and hence they deserve reservation. Shamsheer Hakla urged Government to conduct the special census to determine the exact number of Gujjar and Bakerwal population in the UT.
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