News Kashmir Analysis
Jammu and Kashmir is a mountainous state built from three primary regions: Jammu (the winter capital), the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh; its capital in the summer is called Srinagar.
The tough terrain aided by political turmoil has ensured Jammu & Kashmir especially the Kashmir Valley remains backward in terms of overall developmental scenario. The successive central governments at New Delhi have found answers in announcing the packages to deal with the developmental issues and also try to address political aspirations via these packages.
During his recent visit to Kashmir,Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 80,000 crore package for Jammu and Kashmir and said it should be used to transform the state, devastated by floods last year, into a modern, progressive and prosperous one. Prime Minister added –“There would be no dearth of money for the state’s development, the Prime Minister promised, saying, “This Rs 80,000 crore is not a full stop. It’s only the beginning…Not only is Delhi’s treasury for you but so is its heart.”
However , even this much of package failed to douse the grievances and anger. Just days after the announcement of this package while commenting on the government plan of giving mere Rs 2000 crores rehabilitation package as “insult to the injury” of flood-hit people of valley of Kashmir, the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation President Haji Mohammed Yasin Khan recently stated “PDP befooled people only to come to power, and to be in power.”
“What we have learnt is that Rs 800 crore are for affected shopkeepers and Rs 1200 Cr for damaged houses. What will each of the flood hit get when the total number of affected families is 15 lakhs?” Khan questioned, in a statement.
In a related development just on the heels of PM Narendra Modi’s announcement of a Rs 80,000 crore package for Jammu & Kashmir, the Union Cabinet few days back cleared a proposal to provide 3,000 state government jobs and 6,000 transit accommodations in Kashmir for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore.
While talking to News Kashmir, R K Bhat, organization of Kashmiri Pandits Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj stated- “ These packages just represent politics and in actual paradigms and lag the vision to rehabilitate the Pandits back in their native places. The real stakeholders are not taken into consideration while framing the packages for Pandits community as a result nothing much is achieved. We were few years back when we returned as employees back to our native land promised lot but nothing concrete was done as a result many left the job. The burning veracity is that the government couldn’t even rehabilitate 2000 KP youths during the last 8 years who had volunteered to serve in Kashmir valley which means not even 5 percent of the whole package has been implemented so far.”
On the otherhand due to lack of holistic vision the demand for more packages continues to be raised now just days back Fruit Growers cum Traders Union (FGTCU) demanded Rs 2890 core compensation for horticulture.
Addressing media persons FGTCU president Bashir Ahmad Bashir said t devastated floods in September 2014 hit the horticulture industry very badly.
“Every stock of fruit stored in godowns, shops, residential house and other places got destroyed. Even the trucks loaded with fruits could not reach to desired destination as roads were blocked by flood waters,” he said.
Be it package with reference to development of Kashmir or Concerning Pandit rehabilitation and return to their native land the ground pulse is that there is more rhetoric and politics in packages than addressing the serious concerns.
