Progress on Delimitation Comm reviewed
Development to get boost as pandemic eases
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 6: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi this evening and discussed with him a lot of issues pertaining to security and development of Jammu and Kashmir besides the annual pilgrimage to holy cave shrine of Shri Amarnath Ji in South Kashmir Himalayas.
Yesterday, Sinha had called on Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
The Lieutenant Governor is scheduled to return to Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow.
Today’s meeting was also attended by former Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Arvind Kumar, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh and DGP CID Rashmi Ranjan Swain among others.
Though there was no official word on the meeting, reliable sources said Sinha is understood to have briefed Amit Shah on all issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir in past about two months during which he couldn’t call on senior functionaries of the Central Government because of COVID pandemic.
“Discussions on Shri Amarnath Ji yatra were prime focus of the high-level meeting as Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) which is headed by the Lieutenant Governor has to take call on the pilgrimage shortly in consultations with the Ministry of Home Affairs. While security is not an issue, COVID pandemic is the prime concern. Any decision on the pilgrimage has to be taken keeping in view the Coronavirus situation. Though the casualties and deaths have considerably come down during past about 10 days, the pandemic threat still persists,” sources said.
Moreover, since the pilgrimage is scheduled to start on June 28, the SASB has to take a decision on it within the next few days. The SASB had earlier announced 56-day long yatra for this year beginning June 28 and concluding on August 22. The administration was bracing up to receive six lakh pilgrims for the holy cave shrine before pandemic. However, on April 22, the SASB had suspended advanced registration for the yatra through various banks.
Sources said the progress made by the Delimitation Commission was also discussed. The Commission had met in New Delhi in February this year. It’s one-year term, which had expired in March this year, has already been extended by one more year.
Security situation in Jammu and Kashmir especially the Valley is also reported to have figured in the meeting and the Lieutenant Governor reportedly gave detailed briefing to the Home Minister including ongoing anti-militancy operations which were hampered by the pandemic and killings of some political leaders including that of Tral Municipal Committee Chairman Rakesh Pandita, who was recently gunned down by the militants in Tral.
Sources said the Central and the Union Territory Governments were considering putting a mechanism in place to avert political killings which were sending wrong message as all gains by security forces and police by eliminating the militants including hardcore ones are overshadowed once the political leaders or civilians are killed.
The Centre as well as the UT Governments were of the view that the anti-militancy operations should be further intensified in Kashmir as situation on pandemic front has eased a bit; it was time to take on the militants though routine operations are still on in the Valley.
Ceasefire between Indo-Pak troops both along the Line of Control (LoC) as well as International Border has been holding since fresh agreement in February barring stray incidents of violations. However, there has been no major infiltration attempts on the International Border or LoC. Few intrusion bids have been successfully thwarted by the security forces.
Sources said Sinha is understood to have given details to the Union Home Minister on the LoC and International Border situation including functioning of Counter-Infiltration Grid both in the hinterland as well as the borders.
The Union Home Minister is also reported to have reviewed COVID pandemic situation in Jammu and Kashmir with the Lieutenant Governor and assured all further help to the Union Territory Government in tackling the pandemic. Jammu and Kashmir was among few States/Union Territories where no shortage of beds in Government hospitals and medical oxygen was reported even when the pandemic was at its peak in the middle of May. The Central Government has hailed the COVID management in Jammu and Kashmir.
Various development projects were also discussed in the meeting between the two leaders. Development has suffered during two months of pandemic but the Union Territory Government is confident that it will be brought back on rails shortly as the situation on COVID front has started improving.
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