Sopore: Hundreds of people from Zainageer belt in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday staged protest demanding tehsil status for the area.
The people from Watlab, Botengoo, Warpora, Hathlango, Janwara, Malmapanpora, Rampor, Rajpor and other areas of Zainageer belt came out on roads and blocked Sopore-Bandipora highway for several hours.
The protesters said they deserve the tehsil status but the demand is being sidelined by authorities and the MLA Sopore Haji Abdul Rashid Dar.
They demand either the tehsil status or connecting the belt with Sopore.
A protester Ghulam Hassan said the people of the area are facing several hardships. “We have to cover a long distance for just an official signature not to speak of other problems we face,” he said.
“If government will not redress our genuine demands, we will intensify protest from Zaingeer to Baramulla,” a sarpanch told INS. “We will boycott the Panchyat elections if our demands are not fulfilled.”