Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 22: Former Minister and Senior Congress leader Mula Ram and DCC Rural President Hari Singh Chib urged the Lieutenant Governor, GC Murmu to waive off the water and electricity bills for the next one year in view of COVID-19 outbreak.
In a statement issued here, senior Congress leaders said with all sections of the society having been economically hit due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government needed to show compassion and provide special succour particularly to the financially distressed poor and marginalized sections of the society.
“The labourers, the farmers, the small traders, the self employed, taxi transport and auto operators, the Rehri and Phari owners have been worst affected due to lengthy lockdown and no source of earnings during the last more than two months. With the poor sections having exhausted all their savings, they are finding it hard to make both ends meet while at the same time having to pay various kinds of cess and tariffs,” they added.
Mula Ram asked Government to come up with concrete relief measures for a larger section of the society whose livelihood has got affected by lockdown imposed by the authorities in view of Coronavirus outbreak in Jammu and Kashmir.
Seeking further personal indulgence of the Lt Governor towards the scarcity of essential commodities including food-grains in remote and far flung areas, Hari Singh regretted that several unscrupulous traders had resorted to undue profiteering at the cost of poor people.
“The articles of day to day use were being sold at exorbitant rates by these reckless elements by taking undue advantage of the prevailing crisis. Free ration facility was also not being made available to all with several complaints pouring in day in and day out,” said Chib.
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