Seventeen years after their migration from the Valley, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to set up a satellite township exclusively for Kashmiri Pandit migrants on the outskirts of Jammu city.

Estimated to come up at a cost of Rs 221 crore on 716 kanals of land, this township will provide for education, recreation and health of the inhabitants. It will have 40 parks, one higher secondary and two middle schools, one primary health centre and three community halls, besides playgrounds and mini bus stops. There are also plans to set up commercial sites.

The Government’s move comes at a time when even separatist leaders from the Valley have stepped up efforts to persuade Kashmiri Pandits to return to their native places. The moderate Hurriyat faction had even proposed a three-point formula for honourable and safe return of Pandits to the Valley, saying that it was ready to apologise to them for their sufferings.

However, the Kashmiri Pandits, living in migrant camps at Muthi, Purkhoo and Mishriwala, are not too keen to shift. “It is a step to settle us permanently in Jammu,” says S N Dhar, a retired Government teacher and elected president of the Displaced Welfare Committee of Muthi’s Phase I.

“If they are really interested in our return to the Valley, why are they planning to rehabilitate us at Jagti during the next two years? They (ruling politicians) are providing only lip service while, in fact, they don’t want to take us back to the Valley,” adds Sat Pal Sharma, a representative of migrants living at the Mishriwala camp.

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