Azad assures migrants' rehabilitation

Jammu, Mar 30 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today assured the Talwara migrants of all necessary steps to rehabilitate them in their native villages by providing security, education, healthcare and other basic amenities.

The migrants should return to their native villages and all help will be provided to ease their hardships, Mr Azad said while interacting with the migrants who called on him.

It would be the government's endeavour to bring the migrants back to their villages, engage them in agriculture and alleviate their problems, he added.

''The people have suffered immensely during the past 16 years of militancy in the state with many of them leaving their homes. The miseries of Talwara migrants is yet another example of the fear psychosis and hardships caused due to militancy,'' Mr Azad said.

The migrants led by National Panthars Party (NPP) president Prof.

Bhim Singh presented a memorandum to the Chief Minister about their demands.

Prof Bhim Singh and his party MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia urged the governemnt to formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation scheme for the migrants with provision of educational institutions, dispensaries and other basic amenities.

It may be noted that the chief minister, yesterday, had constituted a committee headed by Mr Chaudhary Lal Singh, MP to probe selling of children by the migrants.

The migrants have demanded the status and relief like that of Kashmiri migrants while at present only 348 migrants out of 938 from Udhampur are getting a cash relief of Rs 400 per person to the maximum of Rs 1600 per family and two kg rice, 9 kg flour and one litre kerosene oil per family.

UNI HGV MA KP1940