KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
The J&K Government is “deliberately” evicting Gujjar-Bakerwal community from their make-shift huts in the forest of Jammu region.
A delegation of Gujjars and Bakerwals on Saturday held protests against incumbent Forest Minister Choudhary Lal Singh for “communal approach” in evicting the members of Baker community from the forests.
“During summers, we come down from forests but this time when we reached our native places in Forests of Rajouri, government had razed down our Kothas (huts),” said president of J&K Gujjar-Bakerwal Conference Muhammad Yaseen Poswal.
He said, “at least fifteen huts were destroyed only on Friday.”
Poswal said that the Forest ministry under Lal Singh has started a “communal drive against Muslims”. “From Samba to Udhampur to Nagrota, only land under Muslim Gujjars has been forcibly snatched,” he said.
“Life of the Gujjars and Bakerwals is totally dependent upon forests,” said Anees Choudhary who was Sarpanch of Kalakote in Rajouri. “We have been living on such a land since 1947 and now the government is resorting to such dirty tricks to play with emotions of Muslims.”
However, he added, “those people who have connections in power corridors are not touched.”
The members of the community said that even Forest Guards are in league with some people and “only poor have become victims of communal policy of the government”.
“We are nomadic people,” said Fayaz Ahmad Poswal, who identified himself as Gujjar-Bakerwal Students Welfare Association. “We keep on moving to feed our cattle but our roots are in forests.”
The members of the community said that actions of Forest Ministry have left them to live under open sky.
“From last two years we are facing problems, government is destroying our homes; Muslims of our community have been target of the government in Jammu region; huts and Kacha houses of our community have been vandalized by the department of forestry,” they said.
They said that they approached Chief Minster ms Mehbooba Mufti on 19th and 20th October. “She promised us that she will discuss the issue with forest minster Lal Singh but there is no response yet,” they said.
On Friday, they said, the Forestry Department vandalized at least 15 structures in Sundarbani area of Rajouri district. “If government will not stop this communal targeting, we will come on roads to save our houses even if we have to make sacrifices,” Yasin said.
