Tauseef Ahmad
Bandipora Jan. 21: The residents of Gurez valley in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district staged a protest against the curtailment of rations by the government.
“We remain cut off for at least six months from the other parts of the district; in the entire Gurez valley there is no paddy production; we are totally dependent on the rice that the government gives us,” said the local sarpanch while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
He also said that the people of Gurez Valley are not the same as those living in Srinagar or Jammu, who can go outside in the winter. We remain cut off for six months from the rest of the world.
“The government has already made reductions in flour, sugar, and kerosene at ration depots; now it has stopped giving the additional 35 kg of rice.” “We live in rural areas where we have joint families, and we cannot manage on 35 kg of rice for a month,” the protesters added.
He also said that we welcome the government’s decision to provide free rice up to December 2023, but it becomes tough for us to manage only 30 or 35 kg of rice.
The residents appealed to the concerned authorities to look into the matter and demanded an adequate supply of rice, sugar, and kerosene at ration depots in Gurez Valley.
