AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
Srinagar, April 15, 2020 (PPI-OT): Amid strict lockdown in the face of coronavirus pandemic, more than 40,000 labourers from occupied Kashmir are stranded in various states of India without food and money. Ajaz Ahmed Wani of Kupwara district, who works in a hotel in Himachal Pradesh, talking to Srinagar-based media persons over phone said, “I have not eaten food for the past four days. I have no money to buy food. Around 30 people from Kupwara district are stuck here.”
Another Kashmiri labourer Shafi Haji of Islamabad district is stuck in Maharashtra with five other colleagues. “Five of us are cramped in a single room. Our pockets are running empty. Whatever we had earned has been spent on food and room rent,” Shafi said. Many Kashmiris, who are working in various companies across India, have requested the authorities for evacuation.
“We are ready to go to the quarantine centres in Kashmir. We are scared here,” said Aaqib Mushtaq of Nishat, Srinagar, who works for a travel company at Noida. Like Aaqib, 300 others are also stuck in different states including Kolkata, Goa, Kerala, and Delhi.
“I am worried about the safety of my brother who is alone in Maharashtra without food and money,” said Yusuf Ahmed, whose younger brother is stranded in Maharashtra. Director, Labour Commission Abdul Rasheed War, said there are around 30,000 to 40,000 labourers from occupied Kashmir in various states of India.
“Every day we receive calls from labourers stuck in various states. They complain about the shortage of food and money. We have contacted the concerned authorities for providing immediate help to our people,” he said.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org