New Delhi : Arguing that the people of Kashmir were still recovering from the aftermath of the Sep 7 floods, a Kashmir-based advocacy group Friday asked the government to postpone the assembly elections.
The Kashmir Centre for Social and Development Studies (KCSDS) criticized both the state and central governments for doing little to provide relief to the people of the state that was ravaged by floods that left hundreds dead and thousands homeless.
“In the past two months, nothing worth mentioning has been done, either by the state or central government to provide relief, shelter and livelihood to the people,” KCSDS chairperson Hameedah Nayeem said.
“The announcement of elections has further hampered the process of relief and rehabilitation and added to the hardships of the people as electioneering has taken precedence over everything else,” she added.
“At present, the state administration is required to wholeheartedly focus on catering to the needs of the hungry and the homeless but is burdened with the election process and therefore the people have been left in the lurch,” she said.
Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly will be held in five phases, beginning Nov 25 and ending Dec 20.