JJ CORRESPONDENT
Jammu, Nov 16: Asserting that Late Chief Minister and her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had deep affection for the people living in the border areas, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday advocated for friendly Indo-Pak relations because the border residents deserve incentives of peace.
“Border people are the worst hit due to the hostility between India and Pakistan,” said Mehbooba Mufti while speaking to the media on the sidelines of a series of party interaction programmes in bordering R S Pura and Bishnah belts here.
“While friendly relations between the two countries are paramount for sustainable peace and development of the whole subcontinent, our people living along the border areas deserve the incentives of such peace the most,” she added.
The former Chief Minister lambasted the callous attitude of the administration towards farmers who have suffered massive losses caused due to recent adverse weather conditions.
“I am told that the government has assured peanuts to the farmers of RS Pura, Bishnah, Samba and other plains of Jammu as compensation, where farmers have suffered extensive damage to their standing crops”, Mufti said.
She said that the sudden change in weather has damaged the crop of farmers and brought them to the verge of starvation, “but the government, I am told, has fixed Rs 600 compensation per kanal, which is disgraceful and disdainful for this hard working class of society”.
The PDP Chief said rice cultivators of border belts of Jammu and apple and dry fruits grows in Kashmir contribute a major portion towards the economy of J&K and in both the regions and the losses suffered by the farmers runs into crores. But it seems that the administration, instead of assessing the damage on the ground, has fixed the compensation sitting behind the four walls of their offices.
