Muslims in Rajouri open doors of masjids for stranded tourists
Srinagar, April 22 : In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, as cod winds tighten grip over Srinagar-Jammu highway, thousands of passengers including patients, tourists and drivers are left stranded at the mercy of cold weather. With no transport, no shelter and no food, the authorities are paying no heed to rescue the stranded passengers.
Mukhti Begum, a paralysed patient who was being brought back from PGI Chandigarh by her family was being kept in a low-budget hotel. Belonging to a south Kashmir district, her family said it was getting difficult for them to manage the food and hotel anymore.
“There are at least 12 patients that I know of, who are in nearby accommodations. The government must at least give special consideration to airlift stranded patients,” her son Muhammad Aslam said. Many patients from Kashmir travel to hospitals outside Kashmir for treatment of chronic and life-threatening diseases.
Videos showing thousands of people taking shelter at bus stands and railway stations in Jammu and Udhampur depict how helplessness was being aggravated by poverty. People complained of not being provided any food while they faced an ordeal in making a meal possible, being stranded for days.
Several Kashmiri truckers transporting apples have also been stranded at Qazigund and Banihal. “We left two days ago with a truckload of apples, but we have been stuck here ever since,” said Tariq Ahmad, 40, from Kupwara.
Meanwhile, spreading a message of humanity and hospitality, people from Rajouri opened the doors of masjids and other religious places for the tourists stuck in the area. A large volume of Kashmir-bound vehicles reached Rajouri from Jammu for further journey towards Mughal Road. “We came to know that a number of tourists including women and children got stuck in Rajouri and there is a troublesome situation after which different Muslim organisations including Islamic Welfare Organisation decided to accommodate as much tourists as they can after which necessary arrangements have been made in Old Jamia Masjid, Rajouri city,” said Shafqat Mir, President Islamic Welfare Organisation Rajouri. https://kmsnews.org/kms/