Srinagar, Jun 07: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the Centre and the State governments together will make every effort to change the “face and destiny” of the state by empowering the youth with education and helping them excel in sports.
He said the Centre was concerned about the future of the youth and this has led to the decision to withdraw the cases registered against youngsters who were “misled” into taking part in stone-pelting incidents against the government forces.
“We believe that children anywhere are same. We understand that a few youths were misled into stone-pelting… Children can make mistakes… (And) that is why we decided to withdraw the cases against those children who were involved in stone-pelting,” Singh, who is on a two-day visit to the state, said.
He said the Centre and the State governments have started schemes to help the young people in securing their future.
“With the help of Jammu and Kashmir government, we will change the face and destiny of the state,” Singh said at an event at the Sher-e-Kashmir Indoor Stadium in Srinagar.
“There is extreme love in the heart of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Jammu and Kashmir. It is our responsibility to provide a secure future to the youth of the state and it can be done with the power of education and miracle of sports,” the Home minister said.
He urged the youth of the Valley not to tread the path of destruction. “I want to appeal the youth that they should take the path of development.”
Lauding the State government for trying to improve sports infrastructure, he said funds will not be a problem for promoting sports.
“Funds will be provided for water sports promotion at Mansar and Pahalgam… Funds will be arranged for development of sports infrastructure,” he said.
Singh felicitated several outstanding sportspersons from the state, including Parvez Rasool, Mehrajuddin Waddoo, Rajinder Singh, Manzoor Dar and Tajjammul Islam.
Jammu and Kashmir has great talent and many more sportspersons will come out of the state if opportunities are provided to them, he said.
Singh said under Prime Minister’s Development Program for Jammu and Kashmir, Rs 200 crore has been sanctioned for developing sports infrastructure.
“Under it, Bakshi stadium renovation work has started with allocation of Rs 44 crore and Maulana Azad stadium in Jammu will be developed at a cost of Rs 40 crore. In all 22 districts of J&K, stadiums are at various stages of development at a total cost of Rs 88 crore. Water sports infrastructure is being developed in Mansar and Pahalgam at a cost of Rs 6 crore,” he said.
He said all the 143 blocks of the state will be provided Rs 10 lakh each for development of sports infrastructure.
On the occasion, Kashmir’s nine-year-old kickboxing sensation Tajamul Islam hugged Union Home Minister and even took a selfie with him and other dignitaries including Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti when the girl was felicitated for her achievements in sports.
Tajamul took Singh, who was flanked by Mehbooba and Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh at an event here, by surprise when she hugged him instead of shaking hands like other presentees, bringing smiles all around.
It was a moment of pride for the little champion when she was felicitated for her contribution in the field of sports at the event – J-K Sports Conclave 2018, where Singh was the chief guest and even asked him for a selfie which he smilingly agreed to.
The video of Tajamul hugging the Home minister went viral on social media drawing appreciation from the netizens including the current as well as the former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir.
“It’s refreshing to see the spontaneity of our youth! All the best to you Tajamul,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.
“Sweet kid. Here’s wishing her more success,” Omar Abdullah – the former chief minister said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Centre has taken a slew of measures for augmenting the strength of government forces in Jammu and Kashmir and creating new job opportunities for the state’s youth, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here today.
Giving details about the steps taken for strengthening and augmenting the police infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said the Centre is providing all the help it can in this regard.
“Rs 174 crore has been given for restoration of police stations, while Rs 500 crore has been provided for acquisition of high-end weapons,” Singh told reporters here.
He said the Centre has also hiked the monthly remuneration of 25,474 Special Police Officers (SPOs) in the state from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000.
“For creating new job opportunities for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, we have made all out efforts along with the state government,” Singh said.
The Home minister said that 3,882 youths have been recruited by the Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPFs).
He said, “7,302 youths have been recruited in the Indian Army. 5,381 local youths have been recruited in the five IRP battalions raised in the state.”
Singh said the Centre has sanctioned two women police battalions — one each for Kashmir and Jammu regions — as part of its efforts for increasing the representation of females in government forces.
“We want to increase the representation of females in security forces … We want to take it to 33 percent. One women’s battalion each for Kashmir and Jammu have been sanctioned,” he said.
