Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Chief Spokesperson and In Charge Constituency Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq on Wednesday asserted that Kashmiri Pandits are part and parcel of Kashmir culture and without them, Kashmiri society will remain incomplete.
This Tanvir, according to the NC spokesperson, said while interacting with the people during his tour of the deep interiors of Jogi Lankar, Rainawari locality in Zadibal constituency.
Among others, the party’s local unit functionaries accompanied him on the occasion. Tanvir also visited the ancient Hindu temple in the Lamba Mohalla and said that the way locals have protected the temple exemplifies the pluralistic culture of the valley.
“We have been living together for centuries and this is our moral obligation to stand by our Pandit brethren. Everyone in Kashmir wants them to come back and live together with them as before. Kashmir belongs to them as much as it does to other communities. They are our own. The very idea of Kashmir is imperfect without having pandits among us. Hopefully, a day will come when they will return and live side by side with their Muslim brethren. NC is committed to creating an enabling environment for their return. We have and will continue to take measures for their employment and housing,” he said.
Tanvir made brief stopovers in the deep interiors of the Jogi Lankar, where he interacted with the locals, who apprised him of the plethora of issues faced by them. They brought pesky power supply, unscheduled power cuts, and long outages to his notice.
Echoing the sentiments of the locals, Tanvir said, “Come winters and the electricity demand of the consumers as well. The administration has again been caught napping on the issue. People, particularly the elderly, students, and patients are at the receiving end of it. Electricity is playing hide and seek with consumers. I hope the administration will rise to the occasion and ensure adequate power supply across Shahar-e-Khas.”
Lamenting the widespread neglect of the administration, Tanvir said, “Nothing is being done to address the issues facing the city. People in Srinagar likewise in other towns and villages across Kashmir, have been left to their own fate. There were numerous instances, where people had protested against the distribution of substandard rice and wheat at ration stores. There is no cognizance of the public complaints.”
