Expressing seriousconcern over the widening social and economic divisions that makes infectiousdiseases more deadlier across the world, Jammu Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP)president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Monday emphasized on the need for aCommunity Based Disaster Management (CBDM) to stem spread of Coronavirusdisease in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statementissued here, Bukhari appealed to his party colleagues and cadres to worktogether to assess the vulnerability of people in their respective areas andrespond accordingly to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 in theirimmediate neighborhoods.
“In societies wherethe virus hits, it is deepening the consequences of inequality, pushing many ofthe burdens onto the underprivileged and marginalized sections of the societyand lower economic strata. We should not expect everything from the governmentand should instead adopt a community based approach to tackle this pandemic,”Bukhari observed.
He said thecommunity based disaster management warrants the affluent classes of Jammu andKashmir to come forward and mitigate the impact of identified hazards of thisdeadly disease and respond and rehabilitate their neighbors who are in direneed of their help. “Social distancing does not mean that we will take care ofour families alone while sitting indoors. In these hard times, we should notforget our social and moral responsibility to look after our poor neighborswhose livelihood has got worst hit by the mandatory restrictions imposed by thegovernment,” the JKAP president remarked.
He said that thereis a dire need to reach out to the daily rated workers, daily wagers, ITIskilled labourers, casual labourers, construction workers, vendors, and othersections of the society whose livelihood has been badly affected by thelockdown. “While these sections of the society will remain healthy by the homeconfinement but they are suffering loss of income or health care as a result ofquarantines and other measures, potentially on a sweeping scale. To begin with,I appeal to my party colleagues and cadres to come forward to help suchaffected families irrespective of their faith and beliefs,” he observed.
Bukhari demandedthat all BPL beneficiaries be given free ration by the government through thePublic Distribution System and the government must ensure that this ration ishome delivered to these families in order to prevent jumbling at governmentdepots and fair price shops across Jammu and Kashmir.
The JKAP presidentalso urged the central government to restore the high speed mobile internetservices in Jammu and Kashmir so as to enable people to keep themselves updatedwith the government advisories on prevention of COVID on a real timebasis. “At a time when the whole world is reeling underthe COVID pandemic, restoration of 4G and high speed internet services shouldnot be delayed for any other consideration. The high speed mobile internetservices can help students and the business community especially the youthworking in the private sector to remain indoors and prevent the spread of thepandemic,” he remarked further.