Vegetable vendors seek normalcy to return to Jammu

Jammu, Aug. 26 : As Jammu is marred by wide scale protests, shut downs or curfews for nearly three months, the badly affected vegetable vendors having deprived of their daily earnings, are praying for the normalcy to return here at the earliest.

"For the past 60-65 days, we have been witnessing shutdowns. Neither we go to the wholesale vegetable markets to buy vegetables nor can we sell anything. When there is no shutdown, there is curfew. We are suffering a lot and we want New Delhi (Central government) to resolve the issue soon," said Pawan Kumar, a vegetable vendor.

Vendors say that selling vegetables is their only sources of livelihood but due to the unrest, their very livelihood has been badly affected.

Many vendors are of the view that the controversy related to revocation of the Jammu and Kashmir government's order allocating transfer of 100 acres of forest land for pilgrims' sanitation purposes to the Amarnath Shrine Board, should be resolved at the earliest by Central government's help.

"Vegetables are so expensive, how will the people afford,.....I think, this issue should be resolved soon, it is good for the government as well as for the people," said Sham Gupta, another vegetable seller.

Vegetable vendors' were upset when the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti (SASS) decided to skip the fourth round of talks with the Government-appointed four-member panel.

Meanwhile, many local residents while visiting the markets, said that though curfew has been lifted in most of the parts and traffic has started plying on the streets, the agitation had cost them a lot.

"Traffic in plying now, but food is expensive, studies of our children have been affected, the common man has been affected a lot. Now as far as the vegetables are concerned, we can buy from these street hawkers only. But if even they would not be allowed to come on roads, how could we arrange for the daily meal?," said Sudarshan Kumar, a local resident. By Tahir Nadeem Khan

ANI