With the pandemic wreaking havoc in Jammu & Kashmir like other parts of the country the muslims across Jammu & Kashmir plan to celebrate Eid Ul Adha quietly this year too due to cash crunch triggered by unprecedented delay in the payment of the salaries to employees of government departments and payments to government contractors and suppliers. Though muslim populations were expecting a better Eid Ul Adha this year due to reducing intensity of the deadly second wave of the pandemic, but the unprecedented delay in the payment of the salaries to employees of government departments and payments to government contractors and suppliers has reduced this year’s Eid Ul Adha celebration also to a low key religious affair. Unfortunately the Government in Jammu & Kashmir has in an unusal precedence taken half hearted measures for disbursing salaries to employees and payments to contractors and suppliers in time on the eve of Eid Adha this year and consequently employees of half of the government departments and hundreds of contractors and suppliers are still waiting for payment of their overdue salaries and payments for Eid spending even this time when just few hours are left for the beginning of eid celebrations. Keeping in view the economic hardships of the people triggered by the deadly second wave of pandemic this year the government had to ensure that salaries go into the pockets of all government employees including the daily rated workers and overdue payments are also disbursed to government contractors and suppliers in time,i.e, almost a week before the beginning of the celebration of Eid Ul Adha. Unfortunately Jammu & Kashmir government has not take care of the all time precedence in disbursement of salaries and payments and the people deprived of salaries and payments on eid eve are finding themselves virtually in a state of frustration as this is the festival for muslims when they need money for buying sacrificial animals days before the beginning of Eid Ul Adha celebrations .Keeping in view the increasing cash crunch triggered by unprecedented lockdown for the consecutive second year this year government should have shown more promptness in paying salaries to employees of the government departments and disbursing payments to departmental contractors and suppliers days before the beginning of eid Ul Adha celebrations.
While government has still time to address the grievances of those government employees who still wait for the disbursement of their salaries and contractors and suppliers still waiting for the disbursement of their payments, it can also show respect to the religious emotions of Muslims by increasing the no of attendants in any religious congregation to the optimum level just for half an hour on the eve of Eid Ul Adha in the morning hours on July 21.
What pained muslim populations of Jammu & Kashmir more this year was the announcement of an advisory on ban of sacrificial animals followed by the decision of reducing the no of attendants at any religious congregational gathering to 25 people. While government has still time to address the grievances of those government employees who still wait for the disbursement of their salaries and contractors and suppliers still waiting for the disbursement of their payments, it can also show respect to the religious emotions of Muslims by increasing the no of attendants in any religious congregation to the optimum level just for half an hour on the eve of Eid Ul Adha in the morning hours on July 21.
