Srinagar: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) slamming the Narendra Modi-led Indian government for the relief measures taken for the people associated with informal sector has termed them inadequate.
The CPI-M leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the payment of Rs 1000 per month as COVID-19 relief to the registered construction workers, Shikarawalas, Ponywalas, Dandiwalas, Palkiwalas and tourist guides is insufficient as double whammy of unemployment and rising food prices has crippled the poor section of the society in the occupied territory. He bemoaned that a large number of unregistered construction workers and migrant labourers have been left out of the scheme.
Similarly, he said, the multiple lockdowns have made the survival of thousands of families who are dependent on the handicrafts sector difficult and the people are eking out a tough existence in the occupied territory. “Thousands of businesses can’t pay their staff or keep them on their rolls. Thousands of labourers from the region, who used to go to Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, UP and other places during the winter months to find labour work, couldn’t go last season due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.
Tarigami said similarly people associated with the tourism industry are finding it hard to earn livelihood since August 2019. “With food prices rising, these people are now facing a dual crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The CPI-M leader said, the fruit industry in Kashmir faced economic consequences due to the lockdown imposed after New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of Indian Constitution in August 2019. “As if it was not enough, another unseasonal snowfall on November 7 in 2019 followed by successive Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 wreaked havoc on the fruit industry in Kashmir. This has affected the livelihood of a huge chunk of the population in the region,” he said.
“And if all this was not enough the surge in food inflation has come at a vulnerable time for hundreds of thousands of poor Kashmiris as they are left financially crippled due to months of stringent lockdown. Restricted transportation and higher fuel rates have significantly pushed up prices of vegetables and other essential commodities causing a huge crisis for poor families,” he added.
Tarigami pointed out a large gap between the Indian government’s inadequate relief and the actual situation on the ground. He said, a hunger alarm seems to be ringing loud with rising food prices, adding that it could mark the beginning of a dual crisis for the poorest families in the occupied territory. “We demand all jobless be provided at least Rs 6000 per month for six months,” he added. Web Desk
