Lack of basic amenities, delay in testing reports will destroy more lives than virus: Bhalla

24/05/2020

JAMMU, May 23: Former Minister and Senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla on Satuay reiterated to waive off the water and electricity bills for the next one year in view of COVID-19 outbreak. He said with all sections of the society having been economically hit due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government needed to show compassion and provide special succour particularly to the financially distressed poor and marginalized sections of the society. "The labourers, the farmers, the small traders, the self employed, taxi transport and auto operators, the Rehri and Phari owners have been worst affected due to lengthy lockdown and no source of earnings during the last more than two months.
With the poor sections having exhausted all their savings, they are finding it hard to make both ends meet while at the same time having to pay various kinds of cess and tariffs," he added. Former Minister claimed that after two difficult months of lockdown, India stands humbled - by the virus, but more than that, by the treatment meted out to its most vulnerable sections; humbled, also, by the fact that a large lower stratum of so-called middle classes will have lost its source of livelihood. At a moment when governments needed to be more deliberative, we have a government beset with uncontrollably delusional self-belief, asserted Bhalla. Indians have taken to social media channels repeatedly over the past few months, to express anger at the way migrant workers are being mistreated. Photos and videos have gone viral, showing migrant workers walking long distances carrying children or elderly relatives, many with bloodied calluses on their feet from walking barefoot, some collapsing with hunger and thirst. Former Minister urged the Lieutenant Governor G.C Murmu led administration to ensure all basic amenities especially water and power supply to the people of Jammu and Kashmir facing impact of Covid-19. Emphasizing on the need for stable electricity supply to the people, Bhalla said the government should address the genuine demands of SSI unit holders repairing damaged transformers whose bills have not been cleared by the finance department for the last six months."With hundreds of transformers developing snag due to overloading and other issues, there is severe power shortage across both divisions of J&K at present and it seems that the authorities at the helm of affairs have developed a cold shoulder approach to deal with the crisis," Bhalla observed. He urged the government to ensure an uninterrupted power supply so that people don't face any difficulty. "Besides creating a buffer stock of transformers, the government should also order installation of new and replacement of decaying electric poles, worn out electric wires and fulfill other infrastructural needs of power department for smooth power supply to the people," Bhalla stressed.

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