J&K: Tangdhar residents threaten to cross LoC to procure food if NFSA not revoked

On Monday, a big protest was held in North Kashmir’s Baramulla town where people asked the state government they should be allowed to fetch rice from Muzaffarabad in case government is not in a position to provide them the full quota of rice through ration stores.

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“We are being given three to five kilograms of ration per person. Rice is the staple diet in Kashmir and a person needs 12 to 13 kilograms a month. This act can’t provide two square meals for a family even for 15 days, general secretary, Baramulla Traders Federation, Tariq Magloo told The Indian Express.

Mughloo, who was leading this protest, said that if government didn’t rescind this act, then people should be allowed to fetch rice from PoK through Srinagar-Muzuffarabad road. We can’t see our families starve.

Advocate Mohammad Naseem, a resident of Tanghdar who is also spearheading the protest in the region said that they have deferred their plan to cross the LoC till Friday. “The officials assured us that some relief will be given to people living in the border areas. In case, there is no relief, then we will have no option but to cross the LoC and seek help from PoK residents,” he said, adding that most of the areas in Tanghdar are inaccessible and the main road also gets closed for several months in winter. “How can we feed our families with five kilograms of rice, this is not possible,” he said.

Though Centre wanted the previous government headed by Omar Abdullah to implement this act, however, NC, Congress government didn’t implement the act as they were apprehensive of the public anger.

On December 2, former J&K chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed despite reservation from some cabinet colleagues, implemented it through a cabinet decision saying that the act is going to benefit more than one crore residents of the state.

Before the implementation of the act, each ration card could be used by a family to get 35 kg of rice per month. But now, each person is entitled to 5 kg rice a month. As per the cabinet, 74.13 lakh persons from poor and marginalised sections of the society will be provided ration at highly-subsidized rates of Rs. 2 per kg for atta and Rs. 3 per kg for rice and the 45 lakh people in non priority category will also be provided atta at Rs. 8 per kg and rice at Rs. 10 per kg.

Not only in Tanghdar, villagers living in neighboring Keran and Uri another border township town also threatened to cross the LoC against this act. And in the main townships of the Valley and Srinagar city, people block highways and roads to get their protests registered. The intensity of these protests have even put the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party that implemented this act on the back foot, with party’s senior most member and parliament member from Baramulla, Muzuffar Baig saying that the act can be amended by the law makers.

Opposition leaders warned Centre to step in otherwise it could have negative consequences in the politically sensitive state. “It may have benefited people in the rest of the country but when we were in the government with National Conference we felt it not suitable for the state and did not extend it to J&K. The previous government instead of discussing it in the assembly and following the proper channel implemented it without applying any mind,” State Congress, president, Ghulam Ahmad Mir said. NC described this act as draconian.

“It is very tragic and ironic that the previous government had said they will increase people to people contact, open additional LoC trade route but instead people are moving towards the border, not for trade or meeting their kith and kin, but for food grain because they fear starvation, NC spokesman, Junaid Mattu said, adding that this has far reaching political implications considering the phase of turmoil. “If people of J&K move towards LoC even if it is a symbolic protest march it has adverse implications,” he warned.