Srinagar, Dec. 5 -- Parliament member Engineer Rashid on Friday called on the central government to ensure that mining-related jobs in Jammu and Kashmir are reserved for local residents.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, the Baramulla MP, said that truck drivers, machine operators and labourers across J&K were losing traditional work as private mining companies increasingly hired workers from outside the Union Territory.

"For decades, the mining sector has supported thousands of families living along riverbanks and quarry belts. Today, these very people are being pushed aside while labour is outsourced from other states," Rashid said.

The MP said the mining sector remained one of the few reliable employment avenues in J&K, especially...