39 terror victims’ kin get job letters; ensuring their empowerment: LG
17 encroachments have been removed from the properties belonging to terror victim families; 36 terror victim families have been identified for house reconstruction, says official
J&K lieutenant governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha on Saturday handed over appointment letters to 39 family members of terror victims at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar while vowing to make the Union Territory (UT) terrorism-free and make those who are giving support to militants to pay a very heavy price. Kin of those killed by terrorists narrated their sufferings and the trauma they faced for decades in silence.
“For these families, today the long wait for justice has ended. With concrete steps for rehabilitation, we have restored their dignity and faith in the system,” Sinha said.
“For a long time, the system ignored the pain and trauma of these families. Real victims of terrorism and true martyrs were hounded by elements within the terror ecosystem. Overground workers (OGWs) were given government jobs, but the terror victims were left to fend for themselves,” he alleged.
“Every available resource and means will be used to make J&K terrorism-free and those who are giving sanctuary, safe-haven or any other support to terrorists will have to pay a very heavy price,” the lieutenant governor said.
He reiterated his commitment to delivering justice, jobs and dignity to terror victim families. “Behind every brutal killing by terrorists lies a story of a home that never recovered, of children who grew up without parents,” he said. On the occasion, appointment letters were handed over to 39 beneficiaries under Compassionate Appointment Rules SRO-43 and Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme (RAS).
So far 156 family members of terror victims have been provided self-employment opportunities under various schemes, including Mission Yuva, Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP) and Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).
The LG listed some of the sufferers who got jobs, including Pakeeza Riyaz of Anantnag whose father Riyaz Ahmed Mir was killed in 1999; Shaista of Hyderpora, Srinagar, whose father Abdul Rashid Ganai was murdered in 2000; and Ishtiyaq Ahmad, the son of BSF jawan Altaf Hussain, who was killed in an encounter nearly 19 years ago.
Sinha stated that after the abrogation of Article 370, the terror victim families found new courage and self-confidence, and now they are speaking out against the terror ecosystem without fear.
Furthermore, 17 encroachments have been removed from the properties belonging to terror victim families, a government spokesperson said. As many as 36 terror victim families have been identified for house reconstruction. The reconstruction work for the houses of the families whose homes were destroyed due to Pakistani shelling in Uri and Karnah will commence in April.
2001 Parliament attack victims remembered
LG Manoj Sinha paid tributes to those who were killed in a terror attack on the Parliament House in 2001, saying their heroism and selfless service to the nation will continue to inspire every Indian. The attack on this day in 2001 was carried out by five armed terrorists but none could enter the building as the attack was foiled by personnel of Parliament Security Service, CRPF and Delhi Police. Eight security personnel, a gardener and a TV journalist were killed in the attack. All five terrorists were gunned down.
