KOTLI, AJK (Kashmir English): Kotli labourers reached outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office along with their donkeys here on Friday to protest against what they termed unfavourable working conditions.
According to a video viral on a website and social media, these laborers, who extract sand from the banks of the Poonch River on the outskirts of Kotli city, took out a procession with their pack animals in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, chanting “Oppression and tyranny, down, down.”
In a video, a labourer participating in the protest can be heard saying that nine of their men were arrested last night, and that they were innocent.
Protest with children
“Where do we go? Our livelihood is being snatched. Should we commit robbery or what else? If we commit robbery, we will also go to jail. Now we will come to protest with our children.”
Another labourer said, “Some individuals who used to extract sand with us from the river bank have now bought vehicles and trolleys, and they are preventing us from extracting sand with donkeys.”
“We have been doing this work for decades. Now, by taking trolleys directly to the river, our livelihood is being destroyed.”
Deputy Commissioner Kotli, Major (R) Nasir Rafiq, told a website that some individuals used to extract sand from the river on their own. “Since the Gulpur Dam was built, the river level has risen, which has created some problems.”
Regarding the recent incident, the DC said that it is actually a dispute between two groups of sand extractors, where there was a fear of fighting. “Therefore, some individuals were arrested under sections 150, 151, and 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code.”
He stated that laws have been made here over time. These individuals used to extract sand without any licence. “Now we have to determine the nature of the place from where they are extracting sand.”
DC Nasir Rafiq further stated that it is the responsibility of the Tehsildar to ascertain the nature of the land and take further action.
“We tried to bind these parties with bail, under which they had to deposit some money to prevent any potential conflict between them.”
The Deputy Commissioner said, “In view of the potential conflict, we have detained some individuals from both parties, who will be released after being bound by bail.”
It is worth noting that Mahmood Musafir, a social activist from Kotli, Azad Kashmir, had marched in protest with donkeys to Muzaffarabad some years ago.
