Red Tapism should not delay the release of relief to border residents of J&K: BADC

• Dr Shazad visits shelling  affected areas of Poonch, demands more bunkers for civilians’ safety

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Border Area Development Conference(JK_BADC), a registered organization working for the welfare of border residents and tribal population of J & K has urged the government of India to  expedite the disbursement of relief funds to families affected by the recent Indo-Pak conflict and heavy cross-border shelling.

During his visit to various shelling-affected areas of district Poonch, Dr. Shazad Ahmed Malik, Chairman of the BADC and former Vice Chancellor, expressed deep concern over the suffering of civilians living along the Line of Control (LoC). He requested the Union Home Minister, Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor of J & K not to allow bureaucratic red tape to  delay the release of much-needed relief and aid for the victims of the cross border shelling and also called for immediate action to ensure timely support for the affected families.

"People living along the border are the worst sufferers of this ongoing tension. They need urgent financial and infrastructural assistance, not paperwork hurdles," said  Dr. Shazad, who interacted with several affected families and local representatives during his visit.

During his visit and meeting with the families of the victims, he informed media personnel that the Government of India should dispatch a team of experts to these border areas to identify suitable locations for the construction of additional underground individual and community bunkers. He further stated that over the past decade, the Government of India had allocated billions of rupees to the Jammu and Kashmir government for this purpose. Unfortunately, he alleged that a significant portion of these funds was misappropriated by certain officials in collusion with corrupt local politicians.