Successive governments have failed to address their concerns, yet hope floats.

Hardened by years of struggle to survive in the cruel cold, more than 400 Kashmiri migrant families believe that Omar Abdullah may well be the messiah they all waiting for.

Living in an east Delhi slum, most of them pull rickshaws, roam around asking for donations or work as labourers. Every year these migrants come to the Capital in the winter to escape the biting cold and snowfall which dries up most of their means of sustenance in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, they are hopeful the new state government will end their winter of discontent. "The new government is the best thing to have happened in the last 20 years. The new chief minister is young and matureu00a0 and can bring about a change," said Mohammad Manzoor, 35, from Noorabad.

Mohammad Ashfaq, a class 12 student from Anantnag, said: "I am hopeful that I will be able to go back home and resume my studies. It is very demeaning to ask for donations."

"We left for Delhi when there was no employment opportunity left for us in the Valley. Omar Abdullah becoming the chief minister is a good sign for Kashmir, specially for its youth," said Mohd Aamir, 24, of Anantnag. Even political commentators feel that the new government may do something for improving the lot of the people. "It will be premature to say anything now," said Balraj Puri, an expert on Kashmir affairs.