Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 19: The ongoing indefinite chain dharna by the PoK Displaced Persons for seeking redressal of their grievances and demands, entered into 24th consecutive day on Saturday.
Today’s chain dharna was held by the group of Displaced Persons from border area of Jhangarh in Nowshera, led by Mohinder Paul. Paul was joined by Sham Lal, Sunil Sharma, Ram Bheja, S P Gupta and Santosh Kumari.
The ongoing chain dharna is being organized under the banner of S O S International, a prominent organization of PoK Displaced Persons, led by its chairman Rajiv Chuni.
These people are demanding implementation of the whole package passed by State Cabinet in October 2014 for PoK Displaced Persons, providing facilities to all displaced at par with Valley Migrants, reservation of eight Assembly seats for the people displaced from PoK, permit PoK DPs to visit their religious places in Pak occupied Jammu and Kashmir, inclusion of 5,300 PoK DP families living outside the State in the ambit of package passed in October 2014 and return of cash deposits with interest to PoK DPs lying with J&K Bank Mirpur.
Addressing the gathering, while beginning the chain dharna this morning, Mohinder Paul highlighted the grievances and hardships of the displaced community, particularly those who were settled at the unsafe placed like near the Line of Control and International Border with Pakistan.
“Because of the Government’s apathy, we have been subjected to repeated migration, which started in 1947 and has been continuing till date owing to unprovoked firing from across the border,” he said and added that a sense of uncertainty has gripped the entire displaced community.
Lamenting that the Government did not keep its promising of allotting five-marla plots at safer places to the border inhabitants, Mohinder Paul feared that their next generation would meet the same step motherly treatment, which they have had been facing for the last 70 years. “Had the Government given us treatment like Kashmir migrants, the displaced community and our children would not have suffered to such an extent,” he added.
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