Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday reiterated the demand for restoration of the state in the Center area, saying that the government elected in Jammu and Kashmir should be given full responsibilities – including security control – effectively to serve their people.
According to a report by The Indian ExpressAbdullah was addressing the media in Ahmedabad during a two -day visit to Gujarat with the aim of reviving tourism in the region, which was a blow after the April 22 terror attack in Pahgam, claiming the lives of 26 tourists, including three from Gujarat.
“This situation in the center region should not have been given to us. In this country, we are unfortunate people whose kingdom was removed and we were made a UT. Others were upgraded to states from UTS.
He also underlined the importance of restoring security responsibilities to the J&K administration. “All responsibilities should be ours. I have always maintained that the control of security should be handed over to us … and we are not ‘NALAC log’ (disabled people). Just see six years that I served as the Chief Minister – there has been a decline in insurgency, the number of casualties has declined. We will give another chance. And we will do better.”
Abdullah was answering questions about the demand of the state and the status of tourism in the valley, after the Pahgam attack. He admitted that the incident had adversely affected tourism, but said that things were slowly improving.
“Pahalgam attack had an impact-no one can deny this. It happened as the peak season was starting, and the kingdom was empty overnight. Before the attack, Srinagar saw 50-55 flights daily; After that, the arrival fell to 15-16. Now, it has returned to 30-35. We will move forward after Amarnath Yatra.
He pushed back against the notion that tourism had come at a complete stagnation. “Don’t be wrong. Amarnath Yatra is on, and 3.75 lakh people have already visited. Tourists are coming. We want that number increase … Tourists are still living in our hotels.”
Addressing security concerns with recent encounters with militants, Abdullah said that these incidents took place in remote mountainous areas, which are away from tourist areas.
He said, “These terrorists were not killed in Srinagar, Pahalgam, Sonamarg or Gulmarg. They were raised in the mountains.
Earlier in the day, Abdullah inaugurated the Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) at the Mahatma Temple Convention Center in Gandhinagar. He was accompanied by Gujarat Tourism Minister Mulubhai Bera.
He later traveled to Narmada district to visit the statue of Ekta and paid floral tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Speaking at Sardar Sarovar Dam, Abdullah praised the transformational effects of the irrigation project and provoked the inability of Kashmir in imagining similar enterprises.
“You can imagine what this dam has done-bring water to the watches and already dried-hit areas. It has transformed the barren land into fertile fields,” he said. “It is our misfortune that we cannot plan such projects in Kashmir because we are not allowed to stop the flow of water. Now that the Indus Water Treaty has been suspended, it is probably time that Kashmir also sees such a project in its fate – one that addresses our power and drinking water shortage.”
,With input from Indian Express,
