Jammu, April 17 (KNS): Seeking immediate government attention, former legislator and senior Peoples Democratic Party leader Firdous Tak on Friday said that around 50000 populations of snowbound areas of Kishtwar were at the verge of starvation in the absence of essential commodities.
According to statement issued to KNS, he said “the areas of Marwah, Warwan and Dachan in Kishtwar district are facing severe crises due to the non-availability of essentials as the shops are running dry and there is absolutely no surface connectivity since November 2019”, Tak said in a statement here.
He said that the Sinthan-Anantnag, Matigawran-Inshan, Warwan-Nowapachi, Dangdooru-Soundar roads remained closed for the last six months. “The roads were closed due to early snowfall, this winter, catching locals off the guard and giving them no opportunity to store essentials”, he said adding, “The local traders also were unable to store the essentials in advance and only limited supply remained available”.
“I have been told by the local residents that even the commodities for the basic day-today needs were not now available. Medicine and baby food have also gone out of stock. These roads usually, open in the first week of April but as there is no such relief in sight now the locals have started panicking”.
The PDP leader said that due to the prevailing lockdown the chopper service, which was the only transportation facility available, was also stopped adding miseries to the local residents. “The non-opening of these roads coupled with the limited stocks have brought the local residents at the verge of starvation”, he said adding that thousands of people from these areas also remained stranded in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir and other neighbouring states, where they go for work during winters.
Tak urged the state administration to take immediate steps to open the roads and press SRTC trucks in the service in order to dispatch essential commodities to these areas. “The government shall also consider airlifting of essential commodities in collaboration with local traders from Kishtwar and Anantnag on humanitarian grounds, the statement issued to KNS said (KNS)