Kashmiri family protects Panchayat house for 70 years with no remuneration

At a time when the govt professes to be promoting democracy to the citizenry, Ganaie family believes that individuals who have dedicated their life to the cause are being ignored and treated with disdain.

A family in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district has been looking after a Panchayat house for decades but has not received a single penny as remuneration during the last seven decades.

Ghulam Mohammed Ganaie (70), the son of Mohammed Ramzan Ganaie, is a resident of Murran village in Pulwama, who has been guarding the ‘Panchayat Ghar’ against ill-designs of ‘miscreants’.

Ganaie family’s seven decades of arduous efforts

Ganaie revealed that his father began taking care of the Panchayat the day it was established in the hamlet and kept doing so for almost 30 years without receiving any amount as a remuneration for the same. After his father died, Ganaie’s brother took over and looked after the same for almost 10 years.

Now, Ghulam Mohammad is himself taking care of the Panchayat house for the past 32 years but has never gotten a single penny for his work.

Ganaie preferred burn injuries over letting the Panchayat Ghar being torched

While revealing his burn injuries on his body, he stated that he once risked his life while schools and Panchayat houses were torched but did not allow anyone to burn the building.

At a time when the government claims to be bringing democracy to the grassroots, Ganaie claims that those on the ground who have given their entire lives to this cause are being disregarded and treated with contempt.

Having met with senior authorities multiple times in this respect, he calls out their promises to be a ‘farce’ on the ground.

Authorities appealed to intervene, release Ganaie’s remuneration

While talking about the Ganaie family’s plight, the local residents say that the destitute household has no source of income and needs immediate assistance, especially the release of his ‘much-deserved’ remuneration.

The family appealed to LG Manoj Sinha, RDD Secretary and concerned district-level officers to investigate the situation on humanitarian grounds.

It is in place to mention here that due to a shortage of space; the local Government Middle School Murran has also been using the Panchayat building for teaching purposes.