Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 30: Citizens’ Forum Jammu today said though developing Smart Cities in J&K is a welcome step but the priority should be given to developing villages here.
“Smart cities development will cost hundreds of thousands crore of rupees and will take minimum 25-30 years to complete. We have an experience of working of Municipalities and the Government departments to develop the city by spending huge amounts with dismal results,” the forum said in a statement issued here today.
It further added that the cities should be developed out of its own sources and the amount earmarked for developing smart cities be spent on developing the roads, electricity, pure drinking water, toilets in every home, Pacca schools, and small dispensaries and other small necessities of the villages.
The Forum said that 80% population of our State lives in villages which are scattered at far flung areas with no accessibility, roads, electricity, drinking water or any other facility.
“Jammu imports Shawls, Blankets and other items from Punjab worth several crore of Rupees for sale to the Vaishno Devi tourists. This can be produced in the villages by providing proper training and equipment to them. There are departments of the State Government to take up this assignment but they do not go out of the city unless it is lucrative”, the Forum added.
While expressing gratitude to Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for formulating Jammu Tourism Plan for development of Patnitop area, the Forum said the department should give first priority to constructing a shopping bazar at beginning of Sanasar Road or any other suitable place at the resort, as the tourists visiting this area do not have any place to shop or good eating joints.
Besides R K Chadha, president of the Citizens’ Forum Jammu, the signatories to the statement included SS Wazir, SS Lehar, RK Arun Sharma, RK Handa, Dr R Madan, Raman Samnotra, SR Sudhir, Sanjiv Kerni, Nirmal Kamal, Manjit Manocha, MS Kapoor, JS Chauhan, Aditya Sharma, Kewal Mahajan, Ramesh Gupta and others.
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