01-03-1996 Our News Folio Koshur Samachar.   Migrant Employees Forum Meeting

An emergency meeting of the Displaced Employees Forum, the representative body of the Kashmiri Displaced Employees was held on 22nd February 1996 at Kashmir Bhawan, Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi under the presidentship of Dr. L.N. Dhar, to take stock of the problems: faced by the displaced Kashmiri Pandits in general and the employees in particular.

The meeting urged the Government to take immediate steps to rehabilitate the displaced community as six years of exile is too long a period to test one's tolerance. It is unfortunate that the Govt, is watching helplessly the suffering of the community and is deriving pleasure out of it, but the time has come when the process of rehabilitation should be started without losing any further time.

The Forum strongly criticised the Govt.'s move to hold elections at this stage when the conditions. in the Valley are not conducive for the same. For free and fair elections, there needs to be a peaceful atmosphere which is nowhere in sight in the Valley. The meeting hailed the decision of all the Kashmiri Pandit organisations not to participate in the elections if held at this stage.

Further, the Forum called upon the Govt to take immediate action on the long pending demands of the migrant employees which includes release of HRA, CCA, employment for the unemployed youth, grant of all the benefits of employment, treating the migrant employees at par with the other employees of the J&K Govt., exemption from income tax etc.

The meeting concluded with a call for all the employees to join the one day conference on Sun day, the 17th of March, 1996 at 2 p.m. at Kashmir Bhawan, Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi in which further action programmes were announced.

DISCLAIMER:

The views expressed in the Article above are Koshur Samachar Team’s personal views and is not responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article.

Courtesy: March 1996 Koshur Samachar