Dear Editor,
Through the medium of your esteemed daily, I would like to make a plea to the Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha. The ground situation in Kashmir is presently terribly volatile for PM Package employees. These unfortunate employees are working under risk to their lives particularly after the terrorists have gunned down the members of the minority community. Not only the members of the minority community were killed but PM package employees were also martyred in the line of duty by terrorists, which is very unfortunate and brings shivers down ones spine. This has created fear psychosis and insecurity among the PM package employees. A large number of such employees are living in the rented accommodation and they have not been provided with the government accommodation and as such there is no security for such employees and there is great risk to the innocent lives of these employees as they work under perpetual threat to their lives especially after the terrorists have killed the PM package employee Rahul Bhat on the line of the duty. The killings of the minority community members has created fear, suspicion and uncertainty in Kashmir valley and the conditions are very sensitive and they resemble the hay days of terrorism of 1990s and thus there is all round fear and mistrust in Kashmir after the dastardly act of the gunning down of the members of the minority communities. Now all the Package employees are peacefully protesting in the Relief Commissioner Office Jammu from the last 54 days and they are genuinely demanding their relocation outside Kashmir valley. They are begging and requesting the government for the safety of their lives but Government is treating these employees as laboratory objects for experimentation purpose only. It is the height of injustice that Government is not paying any heed towards their demand of relocation. These minority killings have created an unprecedented situation in Kashmir where it has become impossible for Package employees to work in such an atmosphere. We are in favour of the return and rehabilitation but all talk of return is humbug till the conditions in the valley are not normalized. The ground conditions in Kashmir are not feasible for the return of the Kashmiri Pandits yet and the migrant PM package employees should not be made sacrificial goats at the altar of the secular democracy of the country. Therefore, it is impressed upon the LG to kindly intervene and order the temporarily adjustment of the PM package migrant employees outside Kashmir valley and immediately attach them to Relief Commissioner’s Migrant Office Jammu till Kashmir be declared as completely terror-free by the Government.
Vivek Koul,
Jammu.
