Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, Mar 18: While bandh and protest in Nowshera town in support of public demand of district status continued on the 31st consecutive day today, Joint Action Committee (JAC) Nowshera has given ultimatum to the Govt up to 4 pm today while several National Conference leaders led by Provincial President Devender Singh Rana joined agitation at Kalakote.
The agitating JAC members of Nowshera had given ‘Jammu Chalo’ call on Saturday. But with the intervention of Deputy Commissioner, thousands of people returned from Lamberi in the afternoon. The Govt had sought time up to Monday afternoon. If announcement for the posting of ADC at Nowshera was not made by this time, the JAC has declared to move towards Jammu the next day.
The people of Nowshera town and adjoining areas today again assembled at main bazaar and held strong protest demonstration. They also took out protest rally in the entire town and then reached at the main venue outside SDM’s office. They staged day long dharna there. Today was 31st day of the agitation at Nowshera. Several locals leaders addressed gathering and criticized local MLA/ MLC besides BJP Ministers and the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti for their role of ignoring Nowshera.
Kalakote town also continued indefinite bandh today, seeking separate ADC’s posting there. Entire market remained closed in the town and the vehicles also remained off the road. The Kalakote JAC led by Rashpal Singh (Ex-MLA), Randhir Singh and others took out strong protest march in the town and then moved to the Tehsil complex. They have rejected the Govt formula of rotational ADCs for Kotranka and Kalakote.
In support of Kalakote people and local former NC MLA Thakur Rashpal Singh, several NC leaders including Devender Singh Rana-MLA Nagrota, former minister Ajay Sadhotra and Youth NC provincial president Jammu, Ajaz Jan also joined agitation at Kalakote today. They sat on day long there at the venue and accorded their party’s support for their genuine and justified cause.
These leaders while lauding the spirit of unity and amity being demonstrated by people of Kalakote, Nowshera and Sunderbani during the ongoing peaceful and apolitical agitation in support of their demands, sought carving out of a new district and posting of separate Additional Deputy Commissioners to assuage the aspirations of the remote and border areas.
Provincial President, Devender Singh Rana and former minister Ajay Kumar Sadhotra expressed solidarity with the agitating people and cautioned the PDP-BJP Government against selectivity in activation of the new administrative units sanctioned by the previous government headed by Omar Abdullah.
“As the people of these areas are pursuing their rightful cause by rising above politics and party affiliation, the Coalition Government is injecting politics and engineering divide to sabotage the issue”, Devender Singh Rana said while joining the party functionaries and workers in the sit-in dharna here.
Rana referred to the meeting of president National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah with Governor N N Vohra in this regard and said the party leadership wants the stalemate to end so that normal activities are resumed again. He lamented that instead of solving peoples’ problems, the present Government was forcing them to take to streets.
Ajay Kumar Sadhotra cautioned against delay in acceding to legitimate demands of the people, saying the Government must come forward to address the issue by shunning its egoistic approach.
“Keeping in view the topography of the area, it is imperative to have the administration at door-steps of people, who are forced to travel long distances in pursuit of solution to their problems”, Sadhotra added.
Th Rachpal Singh assailed the Government for taking vicarious pleasure in sufferings of the people. He said the present dispensation has failed on all fronts, administratively and politically, which is why the people are forced to take agitational recourse.
“The Government should not test the patience of the people”, he cautioned and hoped that the order pertaining to rotational order will be rescinded and permanent arrangement made to assuage the aspirations of the people.
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