MLA Raina, MLC Choudhary apprise CM about plight of border migrants

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 24: Amid high tension on LoC, MLA Nowshera Ravinder Raina and PDP MLC Surinder Choudhary, separately called on  Chief Minister  Mehbooba Mufti and discussed the present situation on border  in Nowshera Sector.
BJP MLA Raina apprised the CM  about  migration of more than three thousand people  from the LoC areas like Jhanger, Sariya, Sair-Makkari, Lam, Laroka, Pukherni, Bhawani, Kalsian, Langer, Dhanaka, Manpur and Kalal. He said this is third migration in last eight months in Nowshera sector and the sufferings of common people near LoC are multiplying day by day.
Raina appealed the Chief Minister to expedite the project of construction of bunkers in the villages prone to shelling near LoC and requested the CM  to work out the strategy to provide a chunk of land to the families that  usually suffer because of Pakistani firing on LoC in Nowshera and Sunderbani areas. He  also requested the Chief Minister to provide full compensation of crops in all the villages near LoC as standing crops totally got damaged in Paki firing .
Raina also raised some of the developmental issues besides apprising the CM  about alleged corrupt practices  in some of the Governmental departments in district Rajouri. The CM  assured the MLA that she would  try to address all the  genuine issues raised by him and also appreciated his role in evacuating the people from LoC during heavy shelling and for taking all the care for the affected people.
Meanwhile,  senior PDP leader and MLC Surinder Choudhary also called on Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti and urged her  to declare border migrants as internally displaced persons and give them all benefits which are being given to the displaced Kashmiri Pandits. “Both the migrants are residents of same state and there should be same parameter in giving relief”, he said  and hoped that with treating border migrants at par with Kashmiri migrants would solve many of their problems.
The MLC said that education, health, employment etc are the biggest issues confronting the border inhabitants and by treating these displaced persons at par with Kashmiri migrant would solve such issues. Hr further urged the Chief Minister to identify State land at the safer places to set up tents from those families who have left their homes and hearts and have taken shelter in different schools. He observed that setting up colonies of border migrants on state land would help the authorities to ensure smooth functioning of the schools where these border migrants are putting up after their displacement. He said that such government lands should be earmarked for setting up of border migrants’ colonies at the time of tension on the border.
Surinder Choudhary, while demanding special recruitment drive for border youth, also sought funds for various road projects and water supply schemes to provide basic amenities to the residents. He also demanded adequate funds from Tribal Affairs Department to electrify the un-electrified villages dominated by Scheduled Tribe (ST) population.