Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits protested in Jammu on Saturday against the delay in monthly relief payments and tried to block the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. However, their attempts to block the highway were foiled by the police.
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Officials said the protesters came out of the Jagti migrant camp (Kashmiri Pandits relief camp) on the outskirts of the city. They then raised slogans in support of their demand for immediate release of relief payments for the month of August. Then in no time they started marching towards the nearby highway raising slogans.
They said the police prevented the protesters from moving towards the highway and persuaded them to disperse. The protesters threatened to intensify their agitation if their monthly relief was not released immediately.
A spokesperson of the Kashmiri Pandit Relief Holders Association said, “The relief for the month of August has not been released by the Relief Commission till date, which is causing trouble to the displaced community.”
He said that for the first time in the last three decades, there has been a delay in releasing monthly relief to the community.