Srinagar: Several residents of Srinagar on Tuesday held a protest demonstration against the Kashmir Crown Trust for not providing a wheelchair to a handicapped person who has been seeking it from the Trust for the past two years.
Local youths from Srinagar assembled here at the press enclave and chanted slogans against the Kashmir Crown Trust and demanded that the government ban it.
The trust is run by Shahid Imran, who claims to be a “journalist” and owns Kashmir Crown, a news portal.
The news portal carries stories focusing on destitute and poor families. Last year, it accused an elderly person of being a fake doctor and paraded him in public. Despite this, the government did not act against Imran.
One of the protesting youths said that Imran was running the trust on donations given by people of Kashmir valley. “Why has he not provided the wheelchair to the handicapped person from Kupwara district?” the youth asked.
“We are donating the money directly to the owner of the trust, Shahid Imran. So, he should help the needy people,” he said.
Another protesting youth said that the handicapped person, Riyaz Ahmad from Bonipora Kupwara, had contacted them to complain that he was not provided with the wheelchair.
“After that we contacted Shahid Imran. We also talked with the coordinator of the trust regarding this issue. Why they have not provided the wheelchair to Riyaz Ahmad who deserves this little of help. If Shahid Imran is collecting money in the name of the needy, he must provide the wheelchair,” he said.
“On a humanitarian basis, we local youths have bought the wheelchair and other items for him,” he added.

ARIF RASHID