JAMMU: In a move that has sparked outrage and despair, the Jammu Municipal Corporation demolished 12 temporary shops operated by Kashmiri Pandit migrants in Muthi township on the outskirts of Jammu. The affected shopkeepers allege that the demolition was carried out without prior notice, leaving them without a source of livelihood.
The Kashmiri Pandits, who fled the Valley during the 1990s due to insurgency, have struggled to rebuild their lives. Many of them set up small shops to make ends meet, but now face an uncertain future.
Residents said they were shocked to see a bulldozer halted near the shops and asking the shopkeepers to empty the premises. “We asked why,” one of them said, “they said we have to delomish them.” He said the officials who accompanied the squad did not accept their pleas that we have been running our homes from these temporary sheds for the last more than 30 years
One of the displaced shopkeepers, a graduate who migrated during the exodus, expressed his anguish: “I set up this shop to sustain my family. It was our only source of income, and now we have nothing.”
Another affected individual, who was running a mechanic shop, echoed the sentiment, stating that his livelihood had been snatched away. “How will we survive now?” he asked.
A shopkeeper, struggling to hold back tears, shared his plight: “I have a daughter at home, and this shop was supporting my family. Now, I have no means to provide for them.”
Adding to the community’s distress, a woman lamented that her husband requires monthly medicines costing Rs 7,000. “How will we afford them now? The government might as well kill us,” she said.
Several shopkeepers accused the administration of apathy, with some pointing fingers at both the Lieutenant Governor’s administration and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for remaining silent on the issue. “Neither the LG administration nor Omar acted to prevent this. We feel abandoned,” said one trader.
The demolition has reignited debates about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, who remain displaced more than three decades after their exodus. For the refugees in Muthi township, these shops represented not just economic stability but also a semblance of normalcy in their otherwise disrupted lives.
The community has called on the authorities to restore their shops and provide meaningful rehabilitation to ensure their survival. They emphasise that they cannot return to Kashmir due to unresolved security concerns and feel increasingly unwelcome in Jammu.
