Srinagar, Aug 21: National Conference (NC) General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar Thursday expressed concern over the rise in prices of essential commodities, saying that the rising prices coupled with increasing joblessness were pushing poor households in J&K to a point of distress.
A statement of NC issued here said that Sagar drew the attention of the government towards the distress signals of J&K economy due to pandemic and the resultant depleted saving, slashed incomes and job losses.
He said that there was widespread disappointment among the people with the administration’s “callous” handling of economic distress.
Sagar said that one of the promises in the run up for reading down the J&K’s status was to draw focus of the union government on welfare in J&K.
He said that the situation on ground was appalling and the forecast not promising as well.
“Public welfare doesn’t fall in the to-do-list of the government. People have been left to fend for themselves,” he said.
Sagar said that the lower middle class and other marginalised sections were additionally burdened by the crunch of escalating price rise of all the basic commodities and mounting power and drinking water tariffs had burdened them further.