National Conference on Thursday sought mitigation of the impact of lost wages of unorganized labor force in J&K owing to the prevailing situation.
In a statement the party requested government of India andJ&K government to ensure that stranded students, businessmen, laborers inBangladesh and in other parts of the country were properly taken care of whichincludes providing safe shelter and food.
“The Central government must come to the rescue of suchstudents and provide them with every possible help including food,accommodation and safe repatriation to Kashmir,” he said.
While expressing concern over loss of jobs to poor and dailywagers, he said, “The earning of the daily wagers mostly unorganized labors,hawkers, and marginal traders is already uncertain as far as J&K isconcerned. Previous lockdowns, curfews and communication blockage also had acrushing blow on the people who live by hand to mouth,” he said.
“The government should sincerely think about doling outadvance payments to old age pensioners, enhance food grain subsidies andimmediate payment of rural job schemes and wage arrears besides ensuringdistribution of personal hygiene material and other items. So far the responseof the J&K government towards the economic crisis has been abysmal, and notin line with other states and UT’s, where local government have gone an extramile to mitigate the suffering of its people by dolling out special packages,”he said.
He sought a comprehensive economic package from thegovernment to mitigate the hardship resulting from Covid-19 to the mostvulnerable people across J&K.
Meanwhile, the party MP Muhammad Akbar Lone sought defermentof due dates of making payment of water and electricity bills by two months andurged the government to subsidize such payments by 50 percent.
“Monthly rations for April and May should be provided freeto all BPL families and at more subsidized rates to APL families. We are goingthrough unprecedented situation; it requires a empathetic response fromgovernment. The lackluster attitude of the government will only add to woes ofpeople particularly poor,” he said.
Senior party leaders Mian Altaf Ahmad and Sakina Itoo soughtpublic distribution of essential items including personal hygiene material bythe government to the people living in all far-flung areas of J&K.
Besides, the two leaders demanded enhanced bonus forfrontline workers including doctors, paramedic staff, police and groundstaffers of municipal committees, PHE and power.