Srinagar: In keeping with his poll promise of providing a healing touch and restoring peace with dignity, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohd Sayeed on November 14 handed over appointment letters to 234 victims of militancy in Baramulla district of the Valley.

At an impressive function in Baramulla, some 55 kms from Srinagar, Sayeed also announced a slew of welfare schemes for widows and senior citizens to an overwhelmed crowd.

During the last 12 years only 294 such orders were issued while 234 appointment orders were issued within 12 days by the present government.

The pension of widows has been raised from Rs 150 to Rs 200. This along with the pension being given to senior citizens as also to the 23,500 disabled people would be delivered at their doorstep through money orders, the Chief Minister announced adding that the cost on delivery would be borne by the state government.

On receiving her appointment letter, a visibly grateful widow Tasleema Begum, who was thrown out by her in-laws, said she had to sell a piece of her land to sustain her family as she had no other source of income.

Another beneficiary Mohammad Ashraf Bhat stated that he had developed a heart problem after his father's death in 1994 for which he underwent several tests free of cost in a local hospital on humanitarian grounds. Armed with a job, he now hoped that he would be able to afford his treatment and provide for his family.

PTI