'Phone restrictions helped save lives in J&K: Governor Satya Pal Malik

New Delhi: Governor Satya Pal Malik on Sunday denied that there was any shortage of medicines and essential commodities in Jammu and Kashmir and said communication curbs helped save many lives there. Mailk also said no life has been lost in Jammu and Kashmir due to any violence in the last 10 days after the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and its division into two Union Territories.

“If blockade of communication helps saves lives, what is the harm?” he told reporters when asked to comment on how long the restrictions will continue.

Malik said that in the past, whenever there was a crisis in Kashmir, at least 50 people used to die in the first week itself.

“Our attitude that there should be no loss of human life. “10 din telephone nahi honge, nahi honge, lekin hum bahut jaldi sab wapas kar denge. (If there is no phone connection for 10 days, so be it. But, we will restore everything soon),” he said.

Malik said there has been no shortage of medicines and essential commodities anywhere in Jammu and Kashmir and enough stocks were available for the people to buy. “In fact, we delivered meat, vegetables and eggs to people’s doorsteps on Eid,” he said.

The Governor was in the national capital to pay his last respect to former Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, who passed away on Saturday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

Fondly remembering Jaitley, Malik said it was the departed leader who had insisted him to take up the responsibility as the Jammu and Kashmir Governor last year. “I was advised by Arun Jaitley to take up the responsibility as Governor. He told me that it will be historic. He also told me that his in-laws are from Jammu,” he said.