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| humanitarian crisis concerning: Mehbooba | | Socioeconomic growth, unending | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, May 2: Recalling distinct brand Kashmir associated with scenic beauty, culture, craft and agricultural produce of state when acceded to India at the time of partition, Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti regretted and observed that instead of being able to build on solid fundamentals state had degenerated into a chronic basket case. She said on the one side people face an unending cycle of sacrifices and violence while on the other state lagged behind to others in every respect. "The states which learnt tourism from J&K have become global destinations in contrast to Kashmir, once the only haunt of westerners in South Asia, where it takes a single incident to bring all tourism to a halt" she said and added tourism industry has always been at receiving end and unable to grow to its full potential as a result of turmoil and uncertainty. With the result state had restricted its socio economic growth besides unending humanitarian crisis.
"The failure of India and Pakistan to resolve the dispute over J&K has not only resulted in human miseries of immense nature it has stunted the growth of the state on social and economic fronts as well" she told a convention of her party's card holders in Beerwa today. The convention was the first of the series that the party has lunched to mobilise popular support for its campaign for a peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue.PDP president said it was encouraging that the vision of a larger world around us that was unfolded by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with his pioneering role in reopening the traditional road links across LOC had now entered the main discourse over Kashmir issue. More and more people within the state were now getting convinced of the need to open up the state if it was to come out of psychological siege, intellectual isolation and economic stagnation. Not just the Muzaffarabad or Rawlakot links but we need to operationalize all the routes in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions to take us out of the post partition dead end and bring us back into the trade and travel mainstream of Asia, she added.
Referring to the pathetic financial position of the state and our shameful dependence on the centre, Mehbooba said autonomy or Azadi will have no meaning in such a scenario where the government sends its employees to jail for demanding their salaries. This situation can not be changed unless we get back full rights on our water resources which were bartered away by the national conference and nobody would return them to us without a peaceful, sustained and focussed people's movement. She said the state could have surplus cash if it was able and allowed by the government of India to harness its water and power resources. "We can help other states not to speak of providing decent employment to our own youth if only we are allowed the free use of our water and our power projects like Salal, Uri and Dulhasti are returned to us" she said.
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