Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Apr 15: Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today described the killing of a youth in Tral area of Pulwama district as unfortunate incident, saying the Army should deal with the situation in the State cautiously.
Mufti told reporters on the sidelines of a function of distribution of cheques to the floods victims of last year’s deluge that killing of youth in Tral was unfortunate and said that they are ascertaining the facts. “It is an unfortunate incident. We will ascertain the facts in it like the case of killing of two youth in Budgam.. the Army also admitted that time,” he said.
The Chief Minister said such an incident should not have happened and the Government would bring out the facts. “Such an incident should not have happened. I do not want to go into the details as it would not be right. Inquiries happen every time, but we will really ascertain the facts in this case,” he said.
Asked about the different statements from Army and State police over the incident, Sayeed said “there are no different statements. The situation is very complex here and Army should deal with it cautiously”.
Earlier, while addressing a function Chief Minister said Kashmir is a political issue and every stakeholder needs to be taken along to address it. “It is a political issue. This uncertainty needs to be addressed. I want to tell those people (separatists) that I understand their viewpoint as well. That has to be addressed too. That needs to be engaged too”, he added.
Chief Minister said that country has to improve its relations with Pakistan. “The relations with our neighbours, Pakistan, is also needed. They also stood up..everyone stood up together to fight this… The SAARC is the ladder to take the development of India forward, but I do not want to go into those details,” he said.
Mufti said his aim is not the chair of the Chief Minister but to make the State an epitome of peace and love. “My aim is to make Jammu and Kashmir an epitome of peace and love. I told my party to give the post of the Deputy Speaker in the Assembly to the opposition. We have to involve them as well. I said the Deputy Chairman in the Upper House should be from Congress. We have to be inclusive. We have to work on a wider canvass and take everyone along. We are not the only solution but have to be inclusive and take everyone along,” he said.
Chief Minister said the September floods were the worst in the last 150 years. “They washed away our everything. But it is the time to forget the past and look towards the future,” he said.
Mufti said the Government was duty-bound to provide relief to those affected by the floods. Around 650 traders and 400 destitute, including women, who were affected by the floods were provided relief.
“In the first phase we will cover 650 traders, who had suffered loses up to rupees five lakh and were given relief of rupees one lakh from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. In the second phase, the Government would provide rupees two lakh to those traders who suffered loses up to rupees 10 lakh”, he said. He also said that damaged infrastructure will be also given top priority and everything will be brought to rails by this summer. Another 1,000 victims of Srinagar district will be provided cash relief once their verification process is completed.
Chief Minister said that last year’s floods was a huge humanitarian crisis and people have gone through very difficult times and restoration of their livelihoods is on top of his agenda.
“I cannot rest till I compensate one and all. I have seen destruction and hopelessness surrounding us. Revival of assets and income will help rebuild lives of those who lost everything in floods,” Mufti said.
Chief Minister said that floods adversely affected the economic growth of the State and assured that Government will go step-by-step in providing relief to the people.
“Besides traders, we will also provide Rs. 50,000 each to the destitute. We disbursed relief in Srinagar today. The victims in Anantnag and Pulwama will be provided compensation tomorrow, to be followed by the victims of other districts,” Mufti said.
“In my meeting with the Prime Minister, I have been assured of support in rehabilitating the affected populace and rebuilding infrastructure,” Chief Minister said and asserted he will only demand that much of funds from the Centre, which is the actual requirement of the State.
Mufti said that Government will take all pre-emptive measures to prevent any future threat from floods. He appreciated the preventive measures taken by the administration in informing the public and thwarting the flood threat due to prolonged periods of rain recently. He said he will seek expertise in designing houses that can withstand the fury of floods. “We will be seeking technical help in developing calamity-resistant prototypes,” he stated and added that in future through better coordination of various agencies involved, advance information on threats posed by natural calamities will be made available to the people.
Chief Minister said the Government will go whole hog in restoring private infrastructure as well. “The damage to the houses has been unprecedented. Although the previous Government provided compensation to the victims under SDRF norms, we will leave no stone unturned to adequately compensate those whose houses have been fully or partially damaged,” he added.
Mufti said that last 50 years were difficult for the State of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that there are ways and means which we have to explore to bring the State out of political uncertainty. “I could have become the Chief Minister two months earlier. I have my goals. Politics is the art of possibilities, managing contradictions,” he said while emphasizing to take the peace process forward.
Chief Minister said his Government will facilitate and help to initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all internal stakeholders. “In 2002, when I was the Chief Minister, we took several steps that ensured peace on borders from Kargil to Kathua,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, while addressing the gathering, said the Government is pledged to compensate the traders and destitute who were suffered in the September deluge. He said the Government is aware about the difficulties being faced by those shopkeepers who saw their assets washed away in last year’s floods. “The Government, with help from Central Government, will take all required measures to help the people who are in need,” he added.
Singh said that PDP-BJP Government will bridge the gap between the three regions of the State and will develop the State on modern lines.
Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Relief & Rehabilitation, Basharat Bukhari, said that Government is pursuing the relief package with the Centre submitted by the previous Government. He said that biggest challenge is to stop future floods in Kashmir.
Minister for PHE, I&FC, Sukhnandan Kumar said that Government will remove encroachments from the banks of river Jhelum and some people may face difficulty but they have to bear it for the betterment of the posterity.
Minister for Public Works, Floriculture, Gardens & Parks, Syed Altaf Bukhari also spoke on the occasion.
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