Months after elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir Valley, Kashmiri Pandit migrants faced a major setback as the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) demolished shops in Muthi Phase-2 quarters on Thursday. The action targeted nearly a dozen shops built by Kashmiri Pandit migrants on land allocated to them three decades ago by the then J&K government.
The shop owners, many of whom have been running businesses there for over 30 years, alleged they were not given prior notice before the demolition drive. However, JDA Vice Chairman Pankaj Sharma refuted the claim, stating that notice had been served on January 20, and written undertakings were received from the shop owners to vacate the land by February’s end. The delay in enforcement, he explained, was due to the model code of conduct for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Sharma further clarified that the land in question had been earmarked for constructing 208 flats for economically weaker sections (EWS) and had to be handed over to the contractor. He maintained that JDA officials had opened the shops’ locks in the presence of the original allottees before initiating the demolition.
The Kashmiri pandit migrants who have nowhere to go have petitioned the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants) to rehabilitate them once more. Out of 12 shops that were demolished, only 8 were running properly. Kashmiri Pandit migrant shopkeepers stated that the help they receive is insufficient to support their families, and they rely on the profits from the shop itself.
One of the shop’s owners, Ashok Raina, said, “I came in the 1990s. My shop has been open for the past 35 years. The day camp was built, and we started the shops. The then-commissioner supported us. To support ourselves, we opened small shops. Our children were taught with this money. JDA sent out some instructions the day before yesterday. Without any notice, they told me to vacate the shops. They had arrived before. They stated that we would take action only after compensating.”
“They finished it in half an hour. We were on the streets and it seemed like the 1990s all over again. The commissioner allotted space for bags. We were told we’d be rehabilitated. No government official came to witness our misery. There were 8 to 10 running shops. When I came, I was young. Now I am old. What will I do now ?”, he further added.
The JDA action has provoked protests from various political parties such as the BJP, PDP, and Apni Party, as well as several Kashmiri Pandit organisations, who demanded the establishment of new stores for displaced members of the community.
Former J&K chief minister and PDP head Mehbooba Mufti posted video footage of the affected people on X, calling the demolition drive “another blow to a community that has endured unimaginable hardships for decades.”
“What began as targeted demolitions of tribal community assets has now been extended to Kashmiri Pandits, further deepening their sense of alienation and loss,” she wrote on X, calling the newly appointed Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, to intervene.
Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants) Arvind Karwani stated that the JDA’s actions were taken without their knowledge or involvement. However, he assured that a tender has been issued for the construction of new shops in the migrant camp, with priority to be given to those who have had shops since the 1990s.
BJP spokesperson G L Raina, who visited the site and interacted with the affected families, described the demolition as “a revenge action soon after the return of the NC-Congress government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.”
Altaf Bukhari, the chief of J&K Apni Party, expressed his disappointment over the demolition, stating that the administration should have first planned alternatives to secure the livelihoods of the affected store owners. He emphasized that such measures are particularly disappointing coming from an elected administration that is supposed to prioritize its citizens’ well-being.
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