Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 12 : Stating that Jammu and Kashmir has been the abode of different religions, faiths and cultures, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today impressed upon the prominent citizens in particular and common masses in general to strengthen the tradition of peaceful co-existence between various sections of the society existing in the State since centuries. “Let us all join hands to nurture harmony and build up bonds of amity”, he emphasized.
Expressing his concern and condemning the violence in Kishtwar and other parts of Jammu division, the Chief Minister underlined the need of weeding out the anti-social elements and violence mongers who escalate tension between various sections of the society for their self-ends.
Chairing a meeting of the prominent citizens of Jammu here this afternoon, the Chief Minister said that the civil society particularly its prominent members have to render their special role to pacify situation and generate goodwill between various sections. He said Government has already initiated measures in this direction and wants active involvement and valuable participation of the prominent citizens of the society in helping the restoration of peace and harmony in the clash-hit area of Kishtwar and other parts of the Jammu division.
The Chief Minister heard viewpoints of various heads of the organizations and the unions and the prominent civil society members present in the meeting and shared with them the measures put in place by the Government to ensure return of peace in shortest possible time.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, Ministers Raman Bhalla, Sham Lal Sharma, Ajay Sadhotra, Ministers of the State, Ajaz Ahmad Khan and Dr. Manohar Lal Sharma, Legislator and National Conference Provincial President, Jammu, Devender Singh Rana, Principal Secretary Home, Suresh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Shantmanu, Director General of Police, Ashok Prasad and ADGP, P. L Gupta.
The prominent citizens which participated in the meeting included Y.V. Sharma, President, Chamber, Commerce and Industries, Jammu, Arun Gupta, General Secretary, Chamber Commerce and Industries, Jammu M. K. Bhardwaj, President, Bar Association, Jammu, Vikram Singh, General Secretary Bar Association, Jammu, Yashpal Gupta, President All Traders & Retailers Association, Jammu, Niraj Anand, General Secretary, All Traders & Retailers Association, Jammu, Inderjit Khajuria, President Hotel and Lodges Association, Jammu, Ravi Mahajan, Paryatan Vikas Mandal, Jammu, M.M. Khajuria, Ex- DGP, J&K,, Mohammad Aslam Qureshi (Rtd IAS), Khalid Hussain, Ex- Dy. Commissioner, Masood Choudhary (Rtd IPS), Narayan Singh, President Rajput Sabha, Ved Parkash, President, Brahmana Sabha, Jammu, Vijay Lochan, President Guru Ravi Dass Sabha, M.R. Bhagat, President Megh Sudhar Sabha, Jammu, Anil Chopra, President Mini Bus Union, Jammu, Ashiq Hussain, Shia Federation, Jammu, Sudershan Singh Wazir, Baldev Khullar, President Raghunath Bazar Association, Jammu, Surinder Mahajan, Ex- President Raghunath Bazar Association, Jammu, Vinod Gupta, President Mahajan Sabha, Jammu, Rajiv Chuni, Chairman SOS International, Choudhary Shah Mohammad, Advocate, S. Surinder Singh, Advocate, Jugal Mahajan, Chief Warden Civil Defence and Talat Niyaz Qazi, Muslim Federation, Jammu, Anil Suri, President Bari Brahmana Industrial Association, Jammu
The civil society members appreciated the initiatives taken by the Government to pacify the situation and ensure safety of life and property. The civil society condemned the violence and expressed grief over the loss of human lives and property in the clashes between the two sections of the society in Kishtwar and other parts of Jammu division. They assured their full support to the Administration in bringing back normalcy and restoring peace and tranquillity in clash-hit areas.
The Chief Minister assured the participants in the meeting that the suggestions given by them will be examined for implementation.
The civil society also unanimously passed a resolution condemning the incident of Kishtwar and those thereafter and committed themselves to uphold communal harmony, secularism and brotherhood. They also appealed that a comprehensive assessment of the damages be done in a time bound manner with adequate compensation to those who have incurred loss of property in the recent incidents.
The citizens also appealed to the Government to remove the restrictions imposed as soon as possible to which the Chief Minister assured them that as soon as normalcy starts returning the restrictions will be curtailed and in this regard he urged the civil society to play their role.
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