Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in an interview with NDTV
- Lt Governor Manoj Sinha met 150 families of terror victims and discussed their support needs in detail
- A helpline was launched for victims to apply for aid, with applications to be verified
- Collateral-free loans up to Rs 20 lakh are available for entrepreneurship by victims
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today distributed 40 appointment letters to victims of terrorism. At the event in Baramulla, Mr Sinha spoke to families of those who were killed by terrorists. He assured them the government remains committed to supporting all victims of terrorism through jobs, compensation, and inquiry-based redressing.
In an interview with NDTV, Mr Sinha said a narrative had been running for a long time by frontal groups of terrorists by taking out processions with bodies of terrorists who were killed by the security forces.
"One day I met a young man who asked me to meet with families of terror victims. I met 150 such families and spoke to them at length. In one case, a man who was killed by terrorists was survived by his wife and three children. One got a government job and the wife got financial help, but the two other children were in trouble," Mr Sinha said.
"Many things came to my mind. For example, how do we help the other two children? I discussed it with the Home Minister," the Lt Governor said.
After handing over the 40 appointment letters today, Mr Sinha announced the launch of a helpline which victims of terror attacks can contact to send their applications for aid. The authorities will conduct a proper check and take a call on the application, he said.
Mr Sinha said he also thought about talking to foundations across the country that work to help people in need.
"During a visit to Pahalgam to see the base camp for the Amarnath Yatra on June 29, I met some families from south Kashmir. There was a young girl, who said her father was a special police officer. He was killed by terrorists. The girl said her mother begged and raised her and her younger sister. Even their relatives refused to help," the Lt Governor said.
What the girl said next was devastating.
"The killers are in a government job, the young girl told me. That day it occurred to me that there could be many more such cases. The killers have a government job, and the families of those they killed were begging on the road," Mr Sinha said.
The Lt Governor said he held a series of meetings with all the top officials in the Union Territory and set up a process to ensure every victim of terror attacks got help.
"We made three-four decisions. There are some people who got financial aid, but did not get a job. Some did not get financial aid, but got a job. We identified gaps and helped them," he said.
Anyone who wants to try entrepreneurship can apply for collateral free aid of Rs 10 lakh. Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has enhanced it to Rs 20 lakh.
"We spoke to the managing director of Jammu and Kashmir Bank. If there are 1,000-2,000 young people who need finance to start small businesses, we will make a special cell for them to take their applications," Mr Sinha said.
He said the government received many applications for jobs and aid. The authorities are going through the applications properly with the help of the police and other agencies.
