Treat porters at par with soldiers: Rights panel

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 20

Stating that the porters working with the Army in J&Kshould be treated at par with the soldiers, the J&K State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has recommended to the government to frame a relief policy to deal with situations such asaccidental or unnatural deaths of porters.

SHRC chairpersons Justice (retired) Bilal Nazki passed the order while dealing with the case of Nasir Din, a porter with the Army from the frontier Kupwara district.

Nasir from Khanabal Panzgam village in Kupwara had died after falling into a nullah in 1997 when he was working with the Army as a porter. He had died during an assignment. However, the family of the victim has not been compensated even two decades after the incident.

“It is unfortunate that a person who was working with the Army, like a soldier, has not been paid by anybody,” the SHRC observed in its order made available today while deciding the petition filed by the victim’s father Jalal-ud-Din Chichi.

The SHRC has further directed the Principal Secretary, Home Department, to come out with a policy for such persons, who do not fall within the ambit of the present government schemes, so as to provide compensation to the victims.

“The commission feels that such persons should be treated at par with soldiers because this boy (Nasir) had died while working as a porter with the Army,” said the rights body while directing the Kupwara DCto take up the matter with the Army authorities.