Former DC, others join Untied Democratic Alliance

| Jammu |

Former Deputy Commissioner of State Taxes Department and Chairman Team Masks Force Jammu, Vijay Sharma along with Shiv Kumar Sharma from Nagrota and Rajinder Gupta from Jammu joined United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in a function held here at New Rehari Office on Friday, abiding by the social distancing norms.
They were welcomed into the party fold by UDA, Chief Spokesperson Rajiv Mahajan and Media In-charge, Co-Conveners (Retd) Col S.S Pathania, Krishan Manhas and Bharat Bhushan Gupta, Jaswinder Singh (Kuku) and Varinder Singh Billawria.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajiv Mahajan, Chief Spokesperson of UDA said that the Alliance with each passing day garnered support as more and more people are joining it in Jammu as they have realized that their interests, the interests of the UT and that of the nation can only be safeguarded by UDA. The people of Jammu region want to defeat the pro-Pak and anti-national forces and hence they are coming into the UDA fold, he added.
Col(Retd) S.S Pathania, Co-Convener of UDA said, in the wake of the increasing coronavirus cases in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, that a strategy immediately needed to control the spread of corona virus cases in the union territory following a sharp rise in infections. He said government should examine all relevant issues and take a necessary decision to re-impose lockdown across the Jammu region due to hike in number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Jammu region must immediately go into lockdown for at least 30 days, he added.
Contrary to claims of Jammu and Kashmir government that all is well in health sector, the condition of Associated Hospitals of Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu is pathetic and only immediate intervention of Lt Governor could save this lifeline of Jammu region�s healthcare from turning into lifeless institutions, he said.
�With corona virus taking a heavy toll on health of people across the globe, Jammu and Kashmir hospitals are ill-equipped to deal with the crisis. Among Indian states, Jammu and Kashmir is one of the states further worse off because for a population of 1.30 crore, there are around 180 ventilators in the Union Territory�s hospitals. Almost all are occupied by the patients at all times, rarely leaving any space for COVID-19 patients if the need arises,� he asserted.
�Doctors have also have raised concerns about the lack of proper and adequate protection gears and safety equipment like N95 masks, PVC coated gowns and ventilators in hospitals,� he said.
Observing that the spread of the virus was similar across the country, he said the death rate in J&K was lesser than the national average. He said we should not wait for more crisis, appealing government to re-impose lockdown as soon as possible to combat spread of corona virus in J&K.
Pathania appealed to the people to cooperate with the administration and not to come out of their homes as together we can achieve the desired results and make nation free from COVID-19.
Later, Vijay Sharma, Shiv Kumar Sharma and Rajinder Gupta were nominated as Co-Conveners of UDA.