Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 21: Maintaining that the dialogue is the only viable medium to solve all vexed issues, the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Ali Mohammad Sagar has said that the people preaching the cult off violence should understand this universal fact that death and destruction have no relevance in the present day world.
The Minister was addressing a huge public gathering at Suhama at Ganderbal district here today on the occasion of conversion of the area from municipal to the rural one, which was a long pressing demand of the people of the area.
Director Rural Development Kashmir, Mir Altaf Ahmed, other senior officers of district administration and different departments were present on the occasion.
The Minister said that various vexed issues throughout the world have been solved through the medium of dialogue only and the people preaching separatism should understand this fact and come forward. He said that the State has witnessed decades of unrest, which have resulted in sufferings to the people and it was due to the tireless efforts of the present Government that the peace has been sustained and now the people are reaping the peace dividends.
“It has been a herculean effort on the part of the Government to ensure the sustainment of peace in the State, in spite of so many efforts and mechanizations of the parties trying to push the State into chaos and confusion”, the Minister said while maintaining that the people of the State have always believed in the concept of secularism and mutual co-existence.
Referring to the various initiatives undertaken by the Government for ensuring the sustained development of the State, the Minister said the people are well aware of the efforts being taken for making the State as one of the model States and now certain parties in a State of frustration are trying to mislead the people by spreading lies and selling obnoxious ideas.
He said in order to ensure that the youth of the State get the much needed employment opportunities, schemes like Himayat and Uddan have been launched by which they can be technically equipped, so that they can set up their own entrepreneurial units and contribute their bit in economic upliftment of their areas.
The Minister later conducted an extensive tour of the different areas of Suhama and Bakura to get first-hand information about the developmental works undertaken and directed the officers to ensure the macadamization of roads and construction of different lanes and drains.