KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
The Gujjar and Bakerwal Communities have asked J&K government to formulate a broad based rehabilitation plan for tribal people living on Indo-Pak border and shift them along with their animals to safer areas in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu , Samba and Kathua districts permanently. The community made this appeal through Tribal Research & Cultural Foundation a main body of Gujjars of state who are facing heavy exchange of shelling and firing in different border areas in the wake of surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army a month ago.
In a community meeting held under the chairmanship of Dr Javaid Rahi the participants stated that the District administrations should device a long term plan of relocation of border tribes instead of advising them to evacuate their native villages on day to day bases in view of cross border firing.
“Due to heaving firings our Tribal and their livestock get killed every year near the border in large number but now this sould must be ended and they must be rehabilitated permanently .
Gujjars Bakerwals constitute a significant percentgae of J&K population and occupy frontier areas along the border from Poonch to Lakhanpur and Uri Karnah to Gurz and Kargil.
“In view of their difficult nomadic life the Government of India granted them Schedule Tribe status in 1991 in J&K,”.
“During last one year, around 10 members of the tribal Gujjars community have been killed and hundreds others injured in the shelling and firing along the LoC and IB in Jammu and Poonch districts, triggering migration of about 16000 people from the border hamlets,” the speaker said.
They asserted that during the 1947, 1965 and 1971 wars, the Gujjars faced the major brunt as they were killed in large number along the LOC and the International Border
