Jammu: Rohingya refugees living in Jammu have remained confined to their camp near Narwal on the outskirts of the region since the lockdown was imposed amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Most of them work as construction workers in Jammu city and its surroundings. They are packed together in a cramped camp with many people living together in one room tenements.
With money and resources running out amid the lockdown, the situation is getting tough for them with every passing day.
The Jammu administration has chipped in to help the labour force rendered jobless by providing them food and other essentials through local volunteers.
The J&K police is also helping by providing them food packets. “We are ensuring that the food supplies reach the labourers and people stranded in Jammu,” Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Sanjeev Verma said.
More than 10,000 Rohingyas are living in Jammu and Kashmir. There are 1,500 registered Rohingya refugee families in Jammu. They say they have come to settle in Jammu to earn a better livelihood.
But in the past they have triggered a major controversy with Jammu based political parties including the BJP raising the pitch for expelling Rohingyas from Jammu and Kashmir. However, the Kashmir centric parties including the PDP and the National Conference say that this is a humanitarian issue and should be looked at as such.
But in the time of the global epidemic Jammu is extending a helping hand to ensure that the sufferings of the people living on the fringes of the society are mitigated.
IANS