Srinagar, Jul 11 (PTI) Former MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid visited the Civil Secretariat here barefoot on Thursday to express solidarity with the people of Karnah and Gurez and to lend support to their demand for tunnels in the areas.

Concluding a three-day sit-in for tunnels at Karnah in Kupwara and Gurez in Bandipora district – both in north kashmir – the former MLA from Langage, in a first-of-its-kind protest, visited the secretariat barefoot.

The sit-in was organised by the People's United Front (PUF) – an alliance between the Rashid-led Awami Ittehad Party and bureaucrat-turned-politiican Shah Faesal's Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement.

Rashid visited the chief secretary's office and submitted a memorandum to the government urging it to take up the construction work for the tunnels at the earliest.

He said the government will have to do justice with the people of Karnah and Gurez "who are living a miserable life" for want of proper road connectivity.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)