On July 31, two migrant workers were killed by terrorists in Kelam, Kulgam
The Jammu and Kashmir administration is preparing a new security strategy for migrant workers following the killing of two migrant labourers by terrorists in Kulgam four days ago.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting to review the security of nearly four lakh migrant workers living across the Kashmir Valley. According to sources, the administration has decided to implement stricter safety measures to reduce the vulnerability of non-local workers.
Under the proposed plan, migrant workers living in isolated and scattered locations will be shifted to designated safe clusters, and separate accommodation for non-local labourers will no longer be permitted.
In addition, every new migrant worker arriving in the Valley will be required to register at the nearest police station. Police will carry out security verification of the worker’s place of residence before allowing them to stay there.
The strategy will primarily focus on Budgam and the districts of South Kashmir, including Anantnag, Kulgam and Pulwama, where a large number of migrant workers are employed in brick kilns and orchards.
Officials said the Valley has 199 registered brick kilns, and providing individual security to workers spread across remote locations is not practically feasible. As a result, labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh are being relocated from scattered huts to designated secure clusters.
Security for non-local workers has remained a major challenge since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. According to parliamentary data and official statements from the Ministry of Home Affairs, around 23 migrant workers have been killed in targeted attacks by terrorists over the past seven years.
Meanwhile, security forces have remained on high alert following two major anti-terror operations in July.
On July 18, the Army foiled an infiltration attempt along the Line of Control in Rajouri after detecting suspicious movement in the Tarkundi forward area, leading to intermittent firing for nearly 90 minutes.
Earlier, on July 8, security forces killed Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakir Ahmed Ganie in an encounter in Shopian.
Ganie was among the 14 most-wanted terrorists identified after the Pahalgam terror attack, and the operation was carried out jointly by the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the CRPF.
