Jammu, Mar 27: Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary on Friday appealed to the public not to panic or hoard essential commodities, saying the government is closely monitoring the situation and there is no shortage of fuel or cooking gas in the Union Territory.
He said that global developments can have a cascading effect on India, including inflation, but stressed that the present situation does not warrant panic buying.
“Today, through your channel, I would like to appeal to people on social media not to spread rumours. Rumours create panic. As you can see, fights have started breaking out at petrol pumps. There is a huge rush, and people have started crowding gas agencies for cylinders, leading to pushing and chaos. There is no need to panic”, Choudhary told reporters here.
He said that the most important thing is that until the situation in the outside world stabilises, it will continue to have an impact on India as well. “It also affects inflation here,” Choudhary said.
The deputy chief minister assured that the administration would ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential items.
“The government is closely monitoring the situation and will ensure that there is no shortage of essential commodities required by the public. If there is ever any issue, the government itself will inform the media,” he said.
“Hoarding is not good because genuine consumers may suffer if others start stockpiling unnecessarily,” he added.
Choudhary also raised concerns over misinformation and defamation on social media platforms, urging media organisations to maintain professional standards.
“There are some people who are defaming the media; such individuals must be identified. The media will have to take necessary action and distance itself from them,” he said.
He said unverified information circulating online was damaging reputations.
“We have seen instances where, overnight, claims are made without proper verification. Earlier, there was scrutiny before publishing anything, but now people sometimes defame others without solid evidence,” he said.
Calling for responsible journalism, the deputy chief minister urged media houses to uphold credibility.
“You should raise your standards and work in such a way that no one can point fingers at you. Maintain such high standards that people praise you rather than accuse you,” he added.
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