Majority of Kashmiri Pandit employees have returned to work in Valley: Official

A majority of Kashmiri Pandit employees who had struck work following the killing of Rahul Bhat by terrorists last year have returned to work a senior official of the Jammu and Kashmir administration said hereI reject this notion that all Kashmiri Pandit employees are protesting in Jammu A majority of these employees have already joined their offices and we are releasing their salaries They have understood the importance of reporting to work Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Pandurang Kundbarao Pole told PTIBhat a Kashmiri Pandit employee was shot dead by the ultras inside his office at Chadoora in Budgam district in May last year The killing had sparked off protests by the Kashmiri Pandit employees who refused to return to workAlso read Amid increase in attacks Centre to deploy 18 additional CRPF companies in JampKA group of protesting employees left the Valley and demonstrated in Jammu demanding that they be relocated out of Kashmir till the security situation improved hereThough the administration agreed to look into most of the demands of the Kashmiri Pandits KPs it refused to relocate them out of Kashmir It further hardened its stand against the protesting employees and stopped salaries of those who did not return to workMeanwhile the Jammu and Kashmir police stated that work was going on to expeditiously complete transit accommodations for the Kashmiri Pandit employees posted in the ValleyThe government has reserved 6000 jobs for the Kashmiri Pandits under the Prime Minister employment package The selection process is almost complete and 6000 flats are being raised at 17 places in Kashmir for them a police officer saidWe have tried to establish these accommodations near main roads and not in the interiors However this also depends on the availability of government landiquest he saidPole said while police personnel will be deployed for the security of these accommodations preference has been given to set up these flats near CRPF camps so that the occupants feel a sense of security and protectionHe said the compounds for Kashmiri Pandits employees will have other facilities like mini hospitals anganwari centres and fair price retail shopsWhile 600 flats for the employees are already operational another 500 will be completed by Marchend The total number of flats is expected to go up to 2000 by June this yearTill now 600 flats are completed at Vessu Kulgam and Sheihkpura Budgam area Prefabricated huts have been provided at Natnusa and Veerwan in Baramulla By March 2023 nearly 500 flats will be completed and in June 2023 we are expecting the completion of 2000 flats the divisional commissioner addedEven as the administration asserts that the employees from the community have nothing to fear in the Valley political parties maintain that a sense of security among the minority community members was as important as physical securityIt is not about oneroom or tworoom apartments The government thinks that providing accommodation will resolve the entire issue about Kashmiri Pandits but that is not the caseThe government has to build a sense of security and confidence among the Kashmiri Pandits PDP spokesman Mohit Bhan saidHe said the Kashmiri Pandit employees came back to the Valley in 2010 to restore the communitys essence and cultureUnfortunately since 2019 we have seen incidents of target killings of minorities When regional parties were governing Jammu and Kashmir not a single Kashmiri Pandit was harmed during agitations like in 2010 and 2016 Now they are losing trust in the security establishment he addedNational Conference spokesman Imran Nabi Dar echoed similar viewsPrimarily the government has to give the employees a sense of security which it has failed Otherwise why are they protesting in Jammu for the past so many days They are not ready to come back as they do not feel secure enough he saidBJP spokesman Altaf Thakur had a different take to offer on the issueThe biggest security for the Kashmiri Pandits are the majority Muslims living in the Valley he saidThakur said security forces are capable enough to fight against terrorists and provide adequate security to the Kashmiri Pandits The KPs should come back They should not surrender before the hollow threats of terrorists as the motive of these Pakistansponsored ultras is that the Kashmiri Pandits should not come back to the Valley he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever