Provide land to those along Indo-Pak border: Cong tells Omar govt

Jammu: Congress on Monday asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to grant land at safer places for people living along Indo-Pak border, in view of frequent ceasefire violations and firings. Senior Congress leader and Jammu MP Madan Lal Sharma, who conducted an extensive tour of border villages in RS Pura, appealed to the state government to “allot five marla plot to affected people on the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in the safer zone beyond firing range.” [caption id=“attachment_1199561” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Firstpost Image[/caption] Sharma also demanded construction of bunkers for the civil population in border villages so that they can take shelter during firing. He appealed to the state to declare border belts on IB as Reserved Under Backward Areas (RBA). He asked the administration to carry out a detailed assessment and register all affected residents, so as to provide proper support. Sharma conducted an extensive tour of border villages of R S Pura Block including Gharani, Gharana , Kapoorpur, Avdal, Nai Basti, Gulab Garh, Suchetgarh, Khotorana, Khotorana Khurud, Abdullian, Chandu Chak, Bega, Bera, Samka, Raipur, Tokani, Hanso Chak, Chak Jujuia, and Fathepur. He demanded that adequate relief and ration be provided to households which were unable to earn their livelihood due to the ceasefire violation along the border. He also sought enhancement in compensation to the victims of the border firing at par with the victims of militancy in the state. Currently, victims of border firing are entitled to Rs 1 lakh while militancy victims are entitled to Rs 5 lakh. He also demanded special on-spot recruitment of affected people in police with age/qualification relaxation, as their education and life had suffered due to wars and violence. Sharma also demanded an increase in rent of land given to Army while suggesting that the Army should acquire the land and provide suitable compensation to the people. PTI