Srinagar: Scores of District Development Council (DDC), Block Development Council (BDC) members, Municipal corporators, panchs and sarpanchs from different areas of the Valley on Friday staged a silent protest against the government for allegedly failing to provide security to the elected representatives.
Protesters including dozens of females assembled at Rajbagh area of the city and staged a silent protest demanding security cover to them in the backdrop of the back to back killings of political workers by the militants.
They alleged that the government has always taken their “genuine concerns” with regard to their safety ‘for granted’ thus putting their lives at grave risk.
Bhat Shaheen, a Municipal Corporator from Rajbagh, appealed to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to provide adequate security to all the elected representatives, who she said put their lives in danger and contested elections when major political parties boycotted the same.
She said the government should seriously consider their demand so that they won’t become soft targets of the militants like those killed in the recent past.
“The aim of holding this protest is to convey a message to the people sitting at the helm of affairs that their lives are safe and they are able to work without any fear. But in our case the situation is different. We approached the DGP and IGP many times and put forth our concerns but no concrete steps were taken to mitigate our apprehensions,” she added.
“Besides adequate security cover we also demand the government to provide us with suitable accommodations. We cannot put ourselves in trouble, we again request the LG to consider our demand, otherwise we will be forced to come on the roads,” she added.
