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| Secretariat move to Jammu a mixed blessing | | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Nov 4
With the Civil Secretariat and other move offices opening in the winter capital of the state on Monday, November 5 Jammu city is poised for stepped up all round activity and hustle and bustle. The mood in the business circles is particularly upbeat in view of prospects of their trade getting tremendous boost with the move down employees and their families shifting to Jammu for six months or so, during which they are expected to make purchases, spending good amount of money. Otherwise also the city has got the facelift, with fresh markings on the road and lanes, to welcome the traditional Durbar move. With the new Chief Secretary, a person from among the masses themselves, occupying the highest administrative post in the secretariat and also supervising the departmental heads, synchronizing with the opening of the secretariat here has generated new hopes among the political as well as social circles in Jammu.
The next six months will witness a lot of political activity also in the winter capital with the seat of power shifting from Srinagar to Jammu and long establish tradition of Gheraoes, picketings and demonstrations by the aggrieved getting momentum. The people are pinning hope of their cases which were lying pending in the official files during long six months and not moving because of their inability to chase the files to the summer capital, are hoping for resolution of their problems and their pending works getting through.
However Durbar move to Jammu is not an unmixed blessing. There will be further chaos on the limited length and more limited width of roads in the city with the traffic movement stepping up many fold. With the number of Private vehicles as well as public transport ever increasing, without any provision for the parking lots as well as the widening of the roads and orderly conduct of the traffic, the traffic jams and blockades are going to increase many fold, compounding the misery of the commuters as well as the pedestrians who hardly find any space on the footpaths and pavements for moving unhindered or without rubbing shoulders with each other.
The diversion of traffic, with the road along the secretariat declared out of bound for the commoners, In the name of providing security to the VIPs is going to add to the vows of the common man. This makes relevant the demand raised by some circles that the secretariat as well as the ministerial residencies on the Residency Road should be shifted to a commodious and open space in the outskirts of the city to provide some breathing space to the inhabitants in the city who can move about without having long wait for allowing passage to the motorcades of the Chief Minister, his ministerial colleagues and other VIPs. In the wake of frequent movement of the VIPs, the people at large are bound to be kept hostage by the traffic authorities and police force, providing uncalled for curbs on their uninterrupted movement in the city.
With the shifting of the seat of power to Jammu, the city is feared to be more vulnerable to terrorist strikes and stepped up militancy. Taking advantage of increased rush and hustle and bustle as well as chaos on the roads and streets, the terrorists find it easy to strike with success and accomplish their nefarious task. With apprehension of stepping up the activities of the terrorists, the security in the city is bound to be further tightened with frequent frisking and searches of the commoners, again leading to their added vows and hardships.
The location of Civil Secretariat, the nerve centre of all government activity being in the heart of the city, near the commercial centre posses a great security risk as well as causes good deal of inconvenience and hardships to the people at large. Similarly the ministerial residencies by and large concentrated at one place, on the Residency Road also posse security risk for the common citizens inhabiting the area round about Residency Road as well as the commercial centre of the city in Raghunath Bazar, City Chowk, Kanak Mandi, Rajinder Bazar and Residency Road. This brings to fore the dire need for shifting both the secretariat as well as ministerial residencies, particularly the residence of the Chief Minister from here to some open place, on the outskirt of the city. This can solve many of the problems being faced by the citizens as well as the visitors to the city of temples, coming for Vaishno Devi pilgrimage or for other purposes. |
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