Raising slogans to demand the securing of their livelihood, Scores of elderly people Thursday staged a protest in Srinagar’s press colony.
The president of the Joint Coordination Committee Retail Kerosene oil and cooperative Union, Javaid Ahmed Hakeem said that the administration on 23 March 2022 issued an ordinance that stated that the Kerosene oil will be provided only to the poor (AAY/ BPL) category and the families belonging to PHH (Priority Households) category would not be provided Kerosene oil.
Javaid Ahmed said that the retailers engaged by the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department in Jammu Kashmir would be paid a meager commission from the Kerosene sold to the PHH category, but the Administration has now decided to not provide Kerosene to the PHH category, leaving thousands of Kerosene distributors in a disarray.
“We are nearly six thousand in number and earn our livelihood by distributing the Kerosene Oil among people in various localities across Kashmir. Out of them, nearly 2500 persons are engaged in Kashmir who are paid on a commission basis by the Government of Jammu Kashmir. This ordinance passed in March has badly impacted our livelihood. We demand its rollback,” Javaid Ahmed said.
He said that the workers have been engaged for a long time and no regime has ever had a problem with the Kerosene distribution. “We do not understand the motive behind such moves that aim to leave hundreds of people workless. We have families to support, so we demand that the ordinance will be rolled back,” he said.
Flanked by hundreds of other Kerosene retailers, Javaid said that the union members will be forced to come on the streets if their demands are not heard. “We do not have anything else to do. Most of us are over-aged now to engage in some new work. We will bring our families on the streets, if they do not resolve our demand,” Javaid said.