Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Feb 10: Jandrah Sub-Division Action Committee (JSDAC) today threatened to launch mass hunger strike if the State Government failed to accept its demand for granting Sub-Divisional status to Jandrah.
Hundreds of the people from various Panchayats including Jandrah, Korga-Bhatyari, Dhan, Nagola, Kishenpur, Kathar and adjoining villages staged a day long demonstration at Jandrah and blocked vehicular traffic on Kishenpur-Domail road for six hours.
The agitating protestors raised slogans against the State Government and blamed it for subjecting Jandrah to great discrimination by denying it Tehsil status.
“The Government has turned a deaf ear to the problems being faced by the people of Jandrah and adjoining villages. The people had been demanding Tehsil status to Jandrah for the past two decades but the Government has once again ignored the area and denied its due share in the recent decision on creation of new administrative units in the State,” they said.
They said their areas were ignored by the Cabinet Sub-Committee while recommending new administrative units to the State Cabinet. The recommendations made by Cabinet Sub-Committee were politically motivated and no criteria were adopted while announcing new administrative units, they added.
The protestors also condemned the police action and said the police was trying to instigate the people for violent protests. “Our struggle is peaceful and we are committed to non-violence. The police at the behest of administration is making all out efforts to provoke the people for violent protests”, they said.
They made a fervent appeal to the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to personally intervene and get their demand fulfilled.
“We are planning to launch mass hunger strike in days to come if the Government didn’t consider our genuine demand for Sub-Divisional status to Jandrah soon,” the protestors said.
Meanwhile, the SDPO Nagrota Khaliq Hussain Choudhary and the SHO Jajjar Kotli O P Chib met JSDAC members and tried to pacify them.
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