Amit Sharma , Jammu : Vice Chairman of State Advisory Board for the Welfare and Development of Other Backward Classes (OBC), Kuldeep Raj Verma on Saturday demanded reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the recently postponed Block Development Council (BDC) elections.
Verma raised this demand, while addressing a public meeting at Khour block of Akhnoor where hundreds of villagers participated. The villagers also raised various demands and sought redressal of problems being faced by them in the border area.
“I am thankful to the National Conference Congress coalition government for their efforts to give reservation to the women, Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) in the recently postponed BDC elections,” Verma said, addressing the villagers.
He, however, appealed the government to also give reservation to the OBC people in the BDC elections.
Earlier, the villagers raised various demands including compensation of the land under the occupation of Army in the border area of Khour and its other adjoining areas since the farmers were unable to cultivate corps and they should be given land rent by army with new rate.
According to a press statement, the villagers force fully appealed Kuldeep Raj Verma that he should intervene so that the farmers can get ‘crops compensation’ for the land where the farmers were unable to cultivate their crops.
Another group of villagers demanded that de-mining of the border area since hundreds mines were installed by the Army due to which the farmers were unable to cultivate their kanals of land.
“The ‘fence’ has been laid nearly two-to-three kilometers in the Indian Territory and it should be taken ahead,” a group of villagers appealed, Kuldeep Verma during their interaction with him in the public meeting.
After listening to their demands, Verma assured that he would project their demands before the concerned authorities for the redressal of their issues.
Prominent among those who were present on the occasion included Niku Ram Sharma, Swaran Singh, Lal Chand, Sukhdev Raj, Niku Bhagat, Dr Sita Ram, Shamsher Singh, all are the sarpanches and, vice president of Barawala Biradari Pawan Kumar, besides others.