Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 6: Residents of Rakh Brah in the Shangus area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district today protested the Government’s decision to demolish their homes, which they built over the years after receiving permission from the department of Rakhs and Farms.
According to the resident, the Revenue Department has issued a notice to farmers for the demolition of over 500 houses within a 15-day period. They said the Rakhs and Farms land is located in Tehsil Shangus, in the villages of Rakh Brah, Ranipora, Brah, Kawarigam, and Khullchochar, and has been in the possession of Farmers since 1947.
The residents said the Department of Rakhs and Farms has given farmers permission to build residential houses on the land from time to time, and there are currently 550 residential houses, 300 cowsheds, and 11 mosques on the land.
“In 1947, villagers were given land for agricultural purposes. Then, in 1958, it was given to the Rakhs and Farms Department, which allowed farmers to build houses on their cultivated land,” Chowdery, Abdul Hameed, Chairman BDC Chotergu, said, adding that the people who are being expelled were living on the land before it was transferred to the department.
They requested authorities for stopping demolition as the same can create the law and order problem in the area. “We request Revenue Department and Rakhs and Farms Department to please look into the matter as poor Gujjars and Bakarwalls live on it and have no alternate land,” said a resident.
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