Akshay Azad
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 28: Amid little jubilation over possibilities of visiting their ancestors' birth places, given the statements of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leaders about reclaiming Pakistan Occupied Kashmir territory, the refugees are displeased for what they termed as sidelining the refugee population, over territory.
Pertinently, on August 13, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to India, MoS PMO Jitendra Singh had launched a Tiranga Yatra in Samba district and had termed it as India's new freedom fight to release PoK.
He had added that yatra would culminate when the Indian tricolour would be hoisted in the Muzzafarabad region of the disputed territory. Moreover a BJP MP from Godda Jharkhand, Nishikant Dubey had asked Union government to introduce a bill in parliament introducing Lok Sabha constituencies from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).
Refugees of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), who were migrated in 1947 and settled in various area of Jammu province, were of the opinion that Union government has been showing great concern for territory but since independence, the successive governments have ignored many real issues of refugees.
"It is good that government has a policy for reclaiming the territory, occupied by Pakistan but same government has no policy for several thousand families, still residing in camps like Bhour Camp, Gol Gujral camp, Simbal Camp beside others", Comrade Omparkash Khajuria, joint secretary of MJR-47 said, adding that even today the state subjects of refugees bear address of the villages, presently in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
He further said that as per recent reports poured in from New Delhi, the 24 reserved seats for Pakistan Occupied Kashmir are to be opened and filled with the residents of POK. "But it is very unfortunate that several Lakh refugees were settled in various parts of Jammu province and still in camps, since last 70 years but there is not a single representative of refugees in the state assembly", he said.
Khajuria further said that the government must address the issues of refugees settled in various areas of Jammu province, with same intensity, it has been raising the issue of territory, occupied by Pakistan.
"A large chunk of refuges are still not registered with government , whereas the land records pertain to them has been perishing with each passing day and there is no digitalization of records", he said and appealed government to consider the demands of refugees. |
