Srinagar, Jan 1st ::: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said that PDP believes that people are the fountain head of power therefore any govt who so ever is in power has to be accountable to them. Referring to the Chief Minister’s latest statement blaming people for the deteriorating power situation in the state Ms Mufti said the govt has got into the habbit of blaming every body except for themselves for their failures. The worst examples of last three years, be it the unfortunate Shopian episode 2009, killing of 120 youth in 2010 or the latest exposure of crime and corruption brought out by alleged custodial killing of Haji Mohammed Yousuf, the state govt has till date neither taken responsibility nor held any one accountable for those actions, but have only been putting the blame on others. So the Chief Ministers latest blame game about power crisis does not come as surprise to the people.
Ms Mufti said three years of Omar Abdullah govt mark the lowest ebb in governance in Jammu & Kashmir and Srinagar is one of its major victims. Addressing a public meeting at Mujgund in Batmaloo constituency she said “its seems the NC govt is punishing the Srinagar city along with the rest of the state with targeted vengeance for having given it the electoral edge with eight assembly seats and a lok sabha representative”. On this occasion Senior party leader Tariq Hameed Karra, District vice president Nisar Ahmed Mandoo and Ab Hameed Guroo were also present and spoke to the occasion. Some senior workers of NC also joined PDP on this occasion.
Mehbooba said what stands out the present coalition for its failures is not just that it froze the development and peace process in a state that has been a victim of conflict and development deficit but it is guilty of having reversed initiatives that could have led Jammu & Kashmir into the 21st century in real sense. Instead of carrying forward the process and the hope generated by it after 2002 the present govt virtually brought development to a stand still. “The Chief Minister seems to have woken up to the need of accountability in administration but it won't be enough to penalize teachers alone for zero results in the exams. What about zero performance in governance if same standards are applied to the present coalition”, Mehbooba wondered and said one has to have a moral authority to be able to enforce such actions which the present government lacks completely.She said the present government is in huge arrears itself on accountability front with Haji Yusuf’s mysterious death being only the latest and most foul that exposed corruption and crime in Abdullah family itself.
Mehbooba said the govt has failed to benefit from the centrally sponsored schemes like Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan which are totally defunct. Similarly the large number of educational institutions opened and upgraded by the previous govt are being victimized by not providing logistical support, teaching staff and facilities to them.To target teachers alone would not serve any purpose unless the entire system is fixed, she said while stressing the need to improve the public education in the state.
Referring to the problems of Srinagar Mehbooba said a new vision had been unfolded for Srinagar city during the brief three year tenure of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed led coalition. The Dal development project which was got sanctioned at a cost of about Rs 300 crores is showing no impact because of faulty implementation. Except for spending money there is no visible improvement in the condition of Dal Lake which is the primary tourist asset of the city. Similarly the beautification progarmme of the Jehlum river and revitalization of the historic down town, construction of the weir at Chatabal to enable navigation within the city have completely been stalled.
Mehbooba said instead of understanding the problems of Srinagar the present government only has been trying every method of repression and harassment in the city. “A city that needed help to liberate its creative energies has found its youth framed in false cases, a generation painted black as stone pelters and its soul and spirit brutalized by the party that has been exploiting its sentiment for eighty years” Mehbooba regretted. She however expressed confidence that the people were the best judges of right and wrong and they now know from the experience of the last one decade how a well meaning government that held itself accountable to people could bring change in their lives.
Speaking on the occasion senior leader and former finance minister Tariq Hameed Karra said that it was the PDP regime that gave the highest seat of power to Srinagar for the first time by allocating the finance and planning department to him. NC has been exploiting the people of Srinagar for last many decades but have done nothing for the city. He said the inability of the govt to take the development of the capital city to next level as in other cities of the country is not only a perennial source of discomfort for the citizens of this place but it also compromises the city's premier position on the tourist map of the state. He said the state govt could not benefit from open ended schemes like the JNNURM because of lack of political direction which could have solved the city's drainage and sewerage problems once for all. Instead even the projects under ERA with the assistance from Asian Development Bank have not been executed properly with many roads dug up for years but drainage no where near completion. The civic nightmare, electricity blackout and traffic jams have made life miserable and the tourists who once wanted to stay in Srinagar for weeks prefer not more than a night's stay here.”This has severely dented the economic and self employment potential of the residents of Srinagar” he said calling it a severe setback to a proud city that has traditionally created wealth through private enterprise.
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