J&K L-G orders migrant officials shifted to respective HQs for safety

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant-governor Manoj Sinha ordered on Wednesday the shifting by June 6 of all migrant employees in the Union Territory to their respective district headquarters for safety in the wake of targeted terror attacks on non-Muslims posted in remoter areas.
Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah has scheduled a meeting with Sinha in New Delhi on Friday to discuss the present situation after a spurt in targeted killings in Kashmir of migrant government employees.
A top official said that approximately 4,500 migrant employees are posted in district or municipal town areas. “In the last week, around 500 employees, as per their request, were transferred to locations preferred by them, including around 100 couples,” the official said, adding that employees who are not migrants would be considered for postings to safer places “as per option by Saturday”.
Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants were offered government jobs under the Prime Minister’s package to attract them to return to the Kashmir valley in 2013. Hundreds returned and the government constructed clusters at various locations in several districts for them to live in. However, dozens of migrant job seekers hired private accommodation, in south Kashmir in particular.
After the nullification of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution of India, many migrant government employees left the valley for Jammu and other parts of the country fearing street violence. However, the divisional administration directed all migrant employees last October to take up their postings, resulting in hundreds of migrant employees returning to take up their posts.
Terrorists then began to target migrant employees, killing a dozen migrants, including officials. Two female teachers, one of whom was a Sikh lady who was not a migrant, were among the terrorists’ victims.
LG Manoj Sinha also instructed officials on Wednesday to ensure that proper security and secured accommodation be provided for migrant government employees in J&K.
A day earlier, a woman identified as Rajni Bala was shot dead by terrorists in Gopalpora area of Kulgam district, south Kashmir. Before that, on May 12, terrorists had slain revenue official Rahul Bhat at Chadoora, in Budgam district. Last week, TV artiste Amreen Bhat was shot dead at her home, also in Chadoora area.
Meanwhile, Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla held a meeting with UT chief secretary Arun Mehta and other UT administrative secretaries where CS Mehta informed the home secretary that the construction of 6,000 tenements for Kashmiri Pandit migrants in the valley was on at a brisk pace. Mehta said 1,324 tenements will be completed by December 2022 and 672 tenements would be done by October 2023. He said he was confident that the remainder would also be completed in 2023.