COVID-19: Without food & money, Kashmir’s young workers stuck in Haryana

SRINAGAR — At least a dozen workers from northern belt of Kashmir are stuck in Haryana without food and money after authorities announced lockdown in wake of increasing threat due to Coronavirus after a contractor, they worked for, refused to pay outstanding dues.

A group of part-time workers (Caterers) are stuck in Haryana without food and money due to lockdown after the contractor refused to pay outstanding dues.

The aggrieved group of youth said that they are stuck here in absence of food and money for over a week now. “We are 12 persons and have been living on two packets of Maggi only for the past three days. Now, we have started to boil some water and consume that since we have no money with us now to buy ourselves food,” they said over phone.

They said that they belong to the district Kupwara and have been working outside Kashmir. “We move out of J&K to work as caterers. The contractor for whom we were working has ditched us and left us midway,” they said.

“He (Contractor) refused to pay us after the scare of novel Coronavirus mounted. Medical teams conducted our tests but all of us tested negative for the virus but none is listening to our pleas,” they said.

Showing their resentment over the local police of Haryana, they said they approached a local police station Rishi Nagar (in Haryana) with a complaint against the contractor but all the requests fell on deaf ears.

The aggrieved group of workers said that they urge the Central government and the authorities in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to provide us necessary help and take them out from Haryana towards their destinations before they catch the deadly Coronavirus.