Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 6: Expressing anguish on the Coalition Government’s move to abort the Artificial Lake Project on Tawi river, Jammu Paryatan Vikas Mandal (JPVM), a non-political body of more than 23 tourism related organizations, has termed it as a conspiracy against already suffering Jammu to destabilize it further in the spheres of tourism, trade and economy.
While addressing a meeting attended by Hoteliers, Transporters, Traders and other tourism workers dependent on tourism industry, chairman JPVM Inderjeet Khajuria said that State Government’s step for abolition of the Jammu dream project has threatened the livelihood of more than five lakhs souls dependent on Jammu tourism trade.
He further warned the State Government to immediately take back this draconian decision otherwise the suffering public would come on roads to save guard their bread and butter. He said that history is the witness that Jammu is being discriminated in every sphere since decades and every time has to give fight to get their right as happened in the case of Central University and AIIMS, which were rather snatched from Jammuites.
“Knowing well that emerging lake project is going to change economy and environment of Jammu, it was declared abandoned and shelved,” the JPVM leader said and further alleged that Kashmir centric leadership was not going to digest Jammu getting a lake.
The meet also condemned the criminal silence maintained by BJP ministers and MLAs over the issue of completion of lake despite their previous assurances for early completion till it was declared abandoned and shelved not by any other person but by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh. “BJP has openly betrayed the Jammuites who voted en mass in favour of this party,” the speakers rued.
Regarding the much talked project for beautification and consolidation of Tawi Banks on Sabarmati pattern, JPVM asked the Government not to merge the Artificial Lake project on Tawi with this new project and advised that the remaining 20 percent work on lake should be completed immediately and the project is commissioned.
Other who spoke on the occasion, included Kuldeep Wahi, Anchal Singh, Surinder Mahajan, Pawan Gupta, Ashiq Hussian Khan, and Pritam Sharma.