Diplomat Correspondent
Jammu, (DD) The Pahari Tribe ST Forum on Friday held a press conference at the Press Club Jammu to highlight multiple issues affecting students of the Pahari tribal community, particularly the prolonged delay in scholarship disbursement and stagnant hostel infrastructure.
Speaking to reporters, Forum State Coordinator Vikrant Sharma, accompanied by senior executive members Bharat Vaid, Hamid Malik, Rajinder Sharma, Dr Nitan, Nadeem Mir, and Shafait Shah, said that for over two years, Pahari students have not received their annual scholarships. The Forum blamed the delay on the shift of scholarship disbursement authority from the Pahari Advisory Board to the Social Welfare Department.
“This prolonged delay has caused serious hardship for poor and marginalised students of the community,” Sharma said, adding that the Pahari Advisory Board had previously ensured timely distribution of scholarships.
The Forum demanded the immediate release of the pending scholarships for the current academic year, along with arrears from the previous year. It also urged the government to restore the Pahari Advisory Board’s authority to handle scholarship matters directly.
In a related concern, the Forum called attention to the stagnant intake capacity of Pahari hostels, which has remained fixed at 750 for the last 15 years. They said the limited capacity has adversely impacted students from remote and economically weaker backgrounds who depend on hostel accommodation to pursue education in cities.
The Forum appealed to the government to increase both the number of hostels and their intake capacity to meet the rising demand among Pahari students.
During the press conference, the Forum also announced the formation of its Students Wing, naming Advocate Waqar Shah as its Incharge(DD)