At a time when Hindu zealots from Shiv Sena have started harassing Kashmiri truckers in Punjab on the pretext of Yatri’s being subject to ‘harassment’ in Kashmir, number of Kashmiri volunteers could be seen serving these Yatri’s in Pahalgam and other places of Valley.Locals are aghast the way hate mongers are spreading the rumours that Amarnath Yatri’s are harassed in Valley. “This is absolutely unture. We in fact served them in Pahalgam and never on earth could we think of harming them,” said a local from South Kashmir’s Pahalgam area to CNS adding that locals even feed outside labourers at langars. Earlier some Indian news channels claimed that a number of pilgrims from different states of India were attacked by mob in Valley. A police official said that nowhere in Valley any Yatri’s was attacked or harassed. “Such reports are baseless that are only circulated by vested interest elements to create communal tensions. In fact, it were locals who saved a group of Yatri’s from Uttar Pradesh when their vehicle met with an accident in South Kashmir,” the official said.“There are still some inured (in road accident) Yatri’s admitted in Srinagar hospital who are being taken care of by locals.
“We are so grateful to the people of Kashmir who are so hospitable and nice that they risked their lives to save us. I will tell my countrymen (Indians) about the real beauty of Kashmir. I was myself victim of negative campaign about Kashmir but now I have realized that hatemongers don’t want people of India should come to know about the true picture of Kashmir,” said a Yatri Pavan Gupta.Activists of the Shiv Sena’s Punjab unit stopped trucks on way to J&K and forced Muslim drivers to chant slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabad’, saying they wanted to pay back “Kashmiri Muslims” with the “right treatment” for allegedly harassing Amarnath pilgrims. Some drivers were reportedly beaten up for refusing to chant the slogans, a Indian Daily reported on Wednesday.“We fail to understand who are the elements who spread such false rumours. Why government of India doesn’t take action against those media houses which indulge in false reporting. It is a serious issue. The baseless news reports give an excuse to fanatics to target innocent drivers of Kashmir and if harassment continues, we will go on strike,” said a representative of Kashmir Truck Union. (CNS)