Though crime investigators are at liberty to interpret “crime” according to their own assessments and observations but the general public observation about the definition of “crime” is that any act putting human lives to high risk is an unpardonable crime everywhere in every part of the world as governments all over the world are the custodians of the life and property of the people irrespective of their faith, religion caste creed and colour. Unfortunately law enforcers in Jammu and Kashmir amid lockdown have allowed the brick kiln owners of Kashmir to bring around 20,000 migrant labourers amid a huge spike in the tally of both coronavirus cases and as well as deaths of the COVID-19 patients. Ironically the majority of the migrant labourers have been offered air travel facilities to report at the brick kiln sites in short time in central Kashmir’s Budgam district where 113 labourers, according to several media reports, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday this week. Cancellation of Amarnath yatra and permission to huge arrivals of migrant labourers are two contradictory and conflicting measures taken by Jammu & Kashmir Government amid intensifying COVID-19 spread in both Kashmir valley and as well as Jammu division. Though Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Pandurang K Pole says that the permission to migrant labourers to travel to Kashmir and no bar on opening brick kilns are the measures taken to ensure continuity in development works, but question can be asked that what bricks have to do with the development works when even naives in Kashmir know that use of bricks in the construction of state owned buildings and developmental projects has been abandoned long back and now bricks are used only in the construction of residential houses and huts at the hilly tourist destinations in Kashmir valley.
This time the huge spike in COVID-19 patients has triggered the crisis of patient accommodation and ventilator facilities in valley hospitals , where would the government take the migrant labourers who are testing positive for COVID-19 in huge numbers and the locals testing positive for coronovirus in hundreds on daily basis.
Of course police, paramilitary forces and army also built huts for providing free boarding and lodging facilities to the ranks deployed at certain places. Never forget that in modern day constructions, column-beam-slab system not demanding use of even a single brick is being followed in all superstructures built by the government with new technology as under this system of constructions the load of the slab is transferred to the columns or walls through the beams, down to the foundation, and then to the supporting soil beneath. So where the demand for bricks is a compulsion for the government in the construction of developmental works as claimed by the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir. Questions arises that who paid the air fares of thousands of migrant labourers for working in the brick kilns and who are to be blamed for the unprecedented hike in the prices of bricks—law enforcers or the brick kiln owners? And if the government has paid air fares for the migrant labourers this time, why it did not do so when the migrant labourers were dying on highways during COVID-19 lockdown Phase-I in March this year. Question also arises that who are responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in Kashmir intensified by the huge reinforcements of migrant labourers in recent days? This time the huge spike in COVID-19 patients has triggered the crisis of patient accommodation and ventilator facilities in valley hospitals , where would the government take the migrant labourers who are testing positive for COVID-19 in huge numbers and the locals testing positive for coronovirus in hundreds on daily basis.
