Photo credit: UNHCR
The revenue department has decided to cut power and water supply to Rohingya refugees in Jammu.
The Telegraph online sports that this has caused a row, with a minister from the Omar Abdullah government opposing the move.
The department has identified 409 refugee families in Jammu who will lose power and water supply. Most of them live in slums built on private properties and pay rent. The authorities have identified seven clusters to implement their decision, and the drive has already started.
Jammu and Kashmir Jal Shakti minister Javed Ahmed Rana has opposed the move, adding to the issues on which the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and the Omar Abdullah government disagree. A hybrid governance model is in place in Jammu and Kashmir, where the power contours between the LG’s administration and the elected government are unclear.
Sources in the National Conference revealed growing anger in the party, which felt that LG’s office was in charge.
NC MLA and chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq dispelled reports of discord between Raj Bhavan and the chief minister’s office on Saturday.
Omar helms the power department in J & K, while Rana heads the water department.
While expressing outrage at the revenue department’s order, Rana said the Centre was handling the Rohingya issue. Still, he was duty-bound to provide water and power to everybody on humanitarian grounds. He added that he had not been consulted.
A Rohingya Muslim said, “We fear others will also be targeted. We are registered with the UNHCR and want the government to let us live here till the situation improves in Myanmar. We live in a pathetic condition and have nowhere to go.”
Jammu has witnessed a concerted campaign by its Right-wing eco-system seeking the ouster of the Rohingyas, with the LG’s administration working in tandem to create space constraints for the refugees. The reported decision to cut power and water supply suggests the adoption of a new hardline to force them out.
Officials put the number of Rohingyas in Jammu at around 6,500.
