Dozens stage protest in Jammu against anti-encroachment drive

Scores of people staged a protest in Sunjwan-Bathindi on the city’s outskirts against the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s ongoing anti-encroachment drive to retrieve “illegally occupied” land, yesterday.

The authorities have served public notices to violators in the area and ordered them to remove illegal constructions within seven days.

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Carrying tricolours, the protesters, including women and children, poured onto the main road in driving rain.

          Watch Report by Ashish Kohli

One of the protestors, said, “Since yesterday we have received 10-12 notices by the govt to evict our houses. They have served the notices under the garb of destroying commercial buildings”.

“But if they destroy the shop built under the house then the upper buildling will itself fall on the ground”, he said.

“During the partition millions of people went either of the sides of the borders, but we never left our place since the time of Maharaja Hari Singh ji”, he added.

“The NC,PDP have fooled us all these years and have decieved us and in this matter all the govts have dealt us similarly”, he further said.

“The govt has regularised 22 colonies earlier, they can also regularize our colony and we are ready to pay the price of our lands, if govt demands”, he remarked.

“Recently, our PM held a meeting in which he directed all BJP state workers to visit the homes of all the muslims in J-K and make space for BJP in their hearts”, he added.

“We are with BJP, but they have to stop this against our houses drive in our colony”, he told media.

“We don’t have any animosity with the regime and we are not  going to block roads keeping public’s inconvenience in mind”, he said.

“But we will stand with those poor people like us in whole J-K, who are facing similar troubles like us”, he added.