| News Details |
| Bhalla seeks special relief package for Shiv Market fire victims | | demands immediate rehabilitation |
Jammu, October 27 (Scoop News)-Former Minister and Working President of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC), Raman Bhalla, on Monday demanded a comprehensive compensation and rehabilitation package for shopkeepers and traders who suffered massive losses in the devastating fire that engulfed Shiv Market near Jammu Railway Station on Sunday evening.
Bhalla, accompanied by senior Congress leaders, visited the fire-ravaged market and interacted with the affected shopkeepers and traders to assess the extent of the damage and hear their concerns. Expressing solidarity with the victims, he said the government must take immediate and concrete measures to help them overcome the financial losses and restore their sources of livelihood.
Describing the incident as a major setback for the trading community, Bhalla said property and merchandise worth crores of rupees had been reduced to ashes in the devastating blaze. He pointed out that many shopkeepers had invested their life savings in their businesses and depended entirely on their establishments to support their families.
He urged the government to announce a special compensation package for all affected traders and shopkeepers, stressing that the assistance should be adequate to help them recover from their losses and resume their business activities at the earliest.
Bhalla also called for financial assistance from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund and the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, stating that the affected families and business owners needed urgent support during this difficult period. He emphasised that the government should adopt a sympathetic and practical approach while assessing the losses and disbursing compensation, ensuring that no affected shopkeeper was left out of the relief process.
The senior Congress leader further demanded a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for the affected business establishments, saying that restoring livelihoods should be the government's immediate priority. He urged the authorities concerned to facilitate the reconstruction of the damaged shops and ensure that administrative formalities did not become an obstacle to the early revival of commercial activities in the market.
Bhalla specifically called upon the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) to immediately renew the leases of the affected shopkeepers so that they could rebuild their establishments without facing unnecessary delays or uncertainty over their commercial premises. He stressed that bureaucratic hurdles should not be allowed to compound the suffering of traders who had already incurred enormous losses due to the fire.
During their interaction with Bhalla, the affected shopkeepers expressed anguish over the destruction caused by the blaze. They claimed that more than 30 shops and business establishments had been completely gutted, leaving several traders facing an uncertain future.
The shopkeepers also raised concerns over the alleged delay in the arrival of adequate firefighting equipment. According to them, the deployment of smaller fire tenders hampered efforts to bring the blaze under control, contributing to the extensive damage suffered by the market.
The affected traders urged the administration to conduct a proper assessment of the losses, provide immediate financial assistance and ensure that the reconstruction process began without delay.
Reiterating his demand for urgent government intervention, Bhalla said the affected shopkeepers needed more than assurances and called for a time-bound relief and rehabilitation mechanism to help them rebuild their businesses and regain their livelihoods.
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