Eviction of Gujjars from forest land, highly condemnable: JKGBYWC President Zahid Chowdhary

BASHARAT RASHID

Srinagar 17 Nov: While expressing resentment over the demolition of residential ‘Kothas’ and notices issued to Gujjars, in a past few weeks, related to their ‘eviction’ from forest land, Jammu & Kashmir Gujjar Bakarwal Youth Welfare Conference (JKGBYWC) president has called it a ‘wrong step’ by the government.

Zahid Parwaz Chowdhary, president, JKGBYWC, in an exclusive talk, with the Arising State, has said that he has been condemning this order for the last fifteen days and is very concerned about those who are being evicted.

He said that “eviction of Gujjar nomads in forest areas is totally wrong and condemnable, which will never be tolerated”.

“We condemn this step and won’t tolerate such type of demolitions & notices. Gujjar people are not weak, as we know how to defend it. The government shouldn’t force us to come on roads as it may create problems for them later,” Zahid said.

Calling the demolition of KOTHAS ‘illegal’, Zahid rued that there is fear among the people everywhere in Kashmir, “which clearly  depicts that it is merely an attempt to harass the people.”

“I am unable to understand why the Forest Department has started to demolish the Kothas in Pastures. Neither we have occupied these lands nor we live there permanently we live there merely for 6 months during summer, but why this is being done,” Zahid tweeted .

In another tweet, he posted that “this is strongly condemnable, intolerable & these structures are here for more than 70 years. The demolition drive started by Forest Dept. will be defended with tooth and nail. We will never get it to happen with our Community”

Earlier, Former J&K CM and PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, on Tuesday appealed to Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha to intervene in the eviction drive of nomadic people and ensure its stoppage.

On Twitter, Mehbooba Mufti tweeted that “disconcerting to see nomads across J&K being harassed & displaced. They’ve been the rightful inhabitants & are now being evicted on discriminatory grounds. Kindly intervene @manojsinha_ & ensure that this stops”.