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Rediff.com  » News » 'Only 800 Kashmiri Pandit families live in the Valley'

'Only 800 Kashmiri Pandit families live in the Valley'

By Mukhtar Ahmad
March 23, 2010 23:47 IST
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Jammu and Kashmir revenue minister, Raman Bhalla told the state legislature that only 808 Pandit families still continue to live in the Valley.

"A total of 808 Kashmir Pandit families, comprising 3445 souls are still living in the Valley," he said.Bhalla said in reply to a question by Syed Basharat Bukhari of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party that besides minority Kashmiri Pandit community 2,168 Muslim families and 1,749 Sikh families had also migrated out of the valley since the eruption of militancy.
Thousands of Pandit families migrated to winter capital Jammu and other places in the country following the eruption of militancy in the Valley in early 1990.

Bhalla said 209 Kashmiri Pandits had been killed by militants and ex-gratia relief of Rs one lakh had been distributed to the next of kin. Besides, he said an amount of Rs 39,64,91838 had been paid as compensation to the Kashmiri Pandits, whose properties were damaged since the eruption of militancy.

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Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar