Shadow Correspondent
JAMMU, JUNE 21:
Reminding Governor N N Vohra of his commitment to implement Amarnath land row agreement, Team Jammu today urged Governor to withdraw cases registered against youth in Jammu region during the 2008 Amarnath land agitation. Team Jammu pointed out that if cases were withdrawn against 10,000 hardcore agitational terrorists of Valley, who were involved stone pelting, why there is delay in withdrawing cases against youth of Jammu. Addressing meeting of the executive committee, Chairman of Team Jammu Zorawar Singh Jamwal hoped that implementation of Governor rule in J&K would give big relief to the people of the State who were confronting with worst ever governance during the last three years. Zorawar Singh Jamwal said that previous PDP-BJP regime had discriminated with Jammu in every sphere of life and alienation among Jammu youth had crossed all limits. “Now it is high time for the Governor to address grievances of the people of Jammu”, he said and urged the Governor to implement agreement made with people of Jammu. He recalled that in the month of April Governor NN Vohra had set April 24 as deadline for the previous Mehbooba Mufti-led government to implement the agreement reached after the 2008 Amarnath land-row agitation, under which FIRs were to be withdrawn and compensation given to the next of kin of the deceased.
The Governor had directed the administration to expedite the processes required for fulfilling various elements of the agreement reached with the Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti in 2008 and asked for a compliance report. Over 14 people were killed and hundreds injured during the over 64-day Amarnath-law row agitation in Jammu in 2008. Zorawar Singh Jamwal regretted that the Governor had directed the Divisional Commissioner and the Inspector General of Police to expedite the processes required for fulfilling the various elements of the agreement and asked for a compliance report by April 24 but no action was taken by the previous anti-Jammu regime.
Important to mention here that matters reviewed included the status of withdrawal of criminal cases registered against those involved in the agitation, payment of ex gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and setting up a corpus of Rs 1 crore for creating job opportunities in the private sector for the affected families. Widespread protests were held over the allotment of nearly 100 acres of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board by the then PDP-Congress coalition government for building of facilities for pilgrims.
