Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: Hitting out at the ruling PDP-BJP Government in the State, former Minister and PCC State vice president Raman Bhalla today accused both parties of insensitivity in providing basic facilities like drinking water and electricity to the people of Jammu region.
Addressing public meeting at Nanak Nagar the Congress leader said that horrible power curtailment and acute drinking water shortage is unprecedented, which speaks of cruelty of the Government towards residents. He alleged that Govt has failed to ensure basic facilities. He pointed out that apart from power and drinking water shortage, scarcity of food grains at CAPD outlets has added to the miseries of poor people.
Mr Bhalla said that the people of Jammu region are being neglected and discriminated despite repeated assurances from Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. He said BJP had assured of development of all the regions and that the differences and the alienation existing between people of Jammu and those of Kashmir Valley would be removed. However, the people of Jammu region are still feeling neglected and discriminated under present regime, Mr Bhalla said.
He said the slow pace renovation work of Mubarak Mandi complex as Dogra heritage and the ropeway project linking Mubarak Mandi with Bahu Fort which is still in limbo are examples of BJP’s failure to properly represent people of Jammu. He said in the tourism sector, Jammu got merely 20-25 percent funds allocation and out of 13 newly identified tourist spots for development, Jammu has only four whereas, rest are in Kashmir province.
Bhalla further said that Jammu district which has 11 Assembly constituencies was allotted Rs 200 crore whereas, some of the districts having only one or two Assembly constituencies have been provided almost same amount for the development. He said that the Tawi Lake Project in Jammu which was scheduled to be completed in March this year has been extended for two years. In the allotment of indoor stadiums, out of 12 indoor stadiums envisaged, only three (3) are allocated to Jammu region and nine to Kashmir province with two in Ladakh.
Local party leaders Reena Satti, Parveen Singh, Kulbushan Sharma and Sanjay Gupta also spoke on the occasion.