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| Relief Organisation flexes its muscles | | Protecting The Corrupt? | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Nov 26: The police stopped hundreds of protesting residents of the Jagati Camp today while they were moving towards Press Club to give vent to their resentment against the department of relief and rehabilitation for what they called "gross mismanagement of administrative affairs" of the camps as also the "rampant and ever increasing stories of corruption in the organization". While this protest was on, the employees of the Relief Organisation were allowed to take out a counter protest rally in which the participants blamed 'goons as encouraging unrest" in the Jagati Camp. In the rising din of the alleged malpractices and corruption in the relief department amongst the residents in the Jagati camp, the matters are gradually coming to a head, particularly when the Government is being seen as "protecting corrupt employees and promoting handpicked persons as the leaders" of the camp residents.
The camp residents were happy when sometime back there was a talk of the visit of the concerned minister looking after the affairs of relief department. They, in fact, waited for this visit eagerly. As per the public perception, the visit was cancelled under the "pressure of officials of the relief organisations and some members of the Apex Committee who have been in the forefront of toying the government line". But when a few days back the minister visited the Jagati Camp to address a "readymade audience, primarily comprising of persons who have been doing the bidding on behalf of the Relief Organisation", the disappointment in the Jagati Camp was more than manifest. Many residents described it as a "naked display of patronage to corrupt employees of the relief Department as well as to those members of the Apex Committee who are being seen as the government stooges". "While we have been complaining of frequent power cuts in the Camp during the whole of the summer and no body heard us, yet on the day of solemnizing of the marriage of a member of the Apex Committee whom everybody believes to be steeped in corruption the government saw to it that there was no power cut for the whole day, corrupt persons in the camp have government patronage and nobody has any doubt about that," said an agitated resident of Jagati Camp.
Most of the people living in Jagati Camp as also internally displaced Hindus elsewhere in Jammu see the strike in the Relief Organisation as a "government sponsored strike to ward off public pressures for restructuring of the relief Department". "When we heard that Relief Commissioner has been transferred we thought the government is sensitive to public sentiments as well as its responsibility to cleanse the administration responsible for the management of affairs in the camps. But when we heard that it was just a temporary transfer we were depressed and also felt helpless. If the corruption is having patronage at the highest level what can we do," said a teacher working in Jagati camp school on the assurance that his name will not be disclosed. The atmosphere of fear and intimidation in Jagati Camp is palpable. But so seems to be the resolve amongst a large section of the camp dwellers to stand up to it and "save their living places from being converted into hubs of corruption".
Those who were in the forefront of organizing the gathering for the visiting minister were those employees of the Relief Department who have been working in the organization for almost two decades. The corruption in the construction of the Jagati Camp is gradually assuming political overtones as PDP has expressed its concern over the safety of the entire construction. There are reports that the vigilance department has been also working on the allegations of corruption for some time. Will these investigations see the light of the day or will the whole affair be hushed up, only the time will tell. The decision of the minister to be seen with those who are under cloud may be a politically costly one as more and more citizens are getting sensitive about the issue. A group of retired engineers told Early Times on the condition of anonymity that "they have already taken out the samples of the construction work to analyze them". They said "they will like to wait for the report of the vigilance department on the issue and will withhold their findings till that time".
As the Relief Organisation is becoming more proactive to contain the brewing resentment against it in the camps, the restlessness of the internally displaced persons is only growing. "We will go to all institutions that can offer us help and expose this fraud which is going on in the name of relief to internally displaced persons. We will also expose the politics behind the functioning of the organization," said an agitated activist who was stopped by the police while coming from the Jagati camp to protest. |
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