Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 1: Residents of border villages along the International Border in Suchetgarh and R.S. Pura, under the banner of the Border Village Action Committee, staged a protest outside the Divisional Commissioner's Office, Jammu, demanding complete waiver of electricity charges and relief for families affected by decades of cross-border shelling, displacement and economic hardship.
The protest was led by former DDC Suchetgarh, Taranjit Singh Tony, along with sarpanches, panches, numberdars and representatives of 46 border villages situated on the zero line. Following the protest, a memorandum was submitted to the Divisional Commissioner for onward transmission to the Lieutenant Governor and the Jammu and Kashmir Government.
Prominent participants in the protest included Sarwan Kumar (Numberdar), Bachan Lal (Pappu), Sarpanch, Jai Dev Singh, Sarpanch, Pritam Singh, Naib Sarpanch, Sher Singh, Panch, Surinder Singh Chib, Romesh Lal, Panch, Mohinder Lal, Numberdar, Jasbir Singh, Numberdar, Nasib Singh, Numberdar, Gurdyal Singh, Sarpanch, Girdhari Lal, Numberdar, Tenu, Numberdar, Romesh Lal Bhagat, Sher Singh Patti, Panch, Master Thoru Ram, Panch, Balbir Singh (Ex-Member), Darshan Lal, Naib Sarpanch, Dr. Manohar, Shashi Choudhary, Vikram Choudhary (Rocky), Kirpal Singh, Naib Sarpanch, and Arjan Singh.
Addressing the gathering, Tony said that border residents have suffered immense hardships due to repeated Pakistani shelling and firing since 1996, forcing thousands to migrate from their homes on multiple occasions. He said the farming community has faced severe losses as standing crops were damaged by firing incidents, while unseasonal rains in recent years have further devastated agricultural production. |
