Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 3: Reiterating her resolve to realize the vision of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today said she counts on the people’s support to make peace a reality in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Give me some time and support and I assure you that I will give you a peaceful, prosperous and promising Jammu and Kashmir,” the Chief Minister said while addressing an impressive gathering after inaugurating the grand Convention Centre here, the first of its kind in the region.
Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, Minister of State for Tourism and Education, Priya Sethi, Vice-Chairman SC Advisory Board, B L Dogra, Legislators, Sat Sharma, Dr Gagan Bhagat and Rani Bloeria were present on the occasion.
Mehbooba said under the current circumstances when the State is facing multifarious challenges; it is only with the support of the people that the Government can make headway in consolidating the peace and rejuvenate the developmental activities.
“We are working steadfastly to realize the vision of a peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir and the days and months to come, I promise you a new and prosperous future for the State where economic development and empowerment of youth, women and work force will be the priority,” she said and added that instead of thinking on regional and partisan lines, people in all the regions of J&K should think about the larger good of the whole State.
She said various forces within and outside the State are out to subvert the Government’s peace and reconciliation efforts and today’s tragic incident at Bijbehara, where three security forces personnel lost their lives in a militant attack, is a grim reminder of the reprehensible designs of such elements.
“This vicious cycle of death and destruction has to end, and sooner the better,” the Chief Minister said and added it is not, however, possible without the support of the people of the State as they are the worst sufferers of this heart-rending bloodletting.
The Chief Minister said her Government is committed to people’s welfare, especially the weaker sections including women and several path-breaking welfare initiatives have been taken by the Government for the masses.
Allaying fears about Jammu losing focus due to direct train services to the holy town of Katra, Chief Minister promised to take effective steps in positioning the winter capital as an independent tourist destination.
Enumerating the measures to be taken up for development of tourist spots in the winter capital, Mehbooba said the work on restoration of Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex would be expedited and the Government has already got in touch with various organisation including German Embassy in India to chalk out a strategy for early restoration of this historic site.
“Unfortunately, a meagre Rs 8 crore has been spent on the restoration of Mubarak Mandi during the past six years out of the Rs 60 crore which were earmarked for the project,” she said and added that there will be tangible progress on this prestigious project now and the results will be there for the people to see.
“Similarly, we have almost removed all the bottlenecks in the Bagh-e-Bahu and Patnitop Ropeway Projects and these would be completed within next two years,” she asserted.
She said Tourism and Culture Departments together will identify other potential sites for tourism promotion in Jammu region. On infrastructure upgrade, the Chief Minister mentioned Ranjit Sagar Dam in Basohli, Akhnoor Fort, Mughal Sarais in Rajouri, Patnitop, Surinsar, Mansar, Jai in Bhaderwah, Warwan in Kishtwar and Mantalai in Udhampur as places where all ongoing projects will be fast-tracked. She said this will position Jammu as an emerging destination for inbound as well as foreign visitors.
Referring to her recent visit to border areas of Suchetgarh and Baba Chamliyal, she said Jammu can emulate Wagah’s success in border tourism. She said she will take up with the Centre the issue of starting a march-past on this side which can become a major attraction for tourists. “We have already earmarked Rs 5 crore for promotion of border tourism at Suchetgarh,” she said.
In his address, the Deputy Chief Minister credited the vision of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in promoting Jammu as a major tourism destination. He also felicitated the people of Jammu for getting a state of the art Convention Centre.
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