Srinagar: National Conference president Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said that the youth of J&K are sinking under the weight of the incumbent administration’s indifference.
Interacting with party workers at his residence, the Member of Parliament from Srinagar, while talking with the visiting delegations about various issues concerning the people, particularly youth, said the August 05, 2019 decisions have impacted the local educated and skilled youth immeasurably.
“The mounting evidence is in the form of widespread and scathing unemployment, job losses resulting in their continuing alienation and frustration,” Abdullah said.
According to a party press release, he said that the incumbent administration’s lack of interest towards the needs of “our youth has also exacted a cost in terms of physical and mental health”.
“Youth are a major part of our demographics, but regrettably this promising chunk of J&K population is living in frustration, unemployment, and insecurity. Despite having the best of capabilities, our youth from Kashmir, Chenab, and Pirpanjal and Jammu regions are uniformly caught in a vortex.
“Mired by hopelessness and anxiety, our capable youth is taking to drug addiction and substance abuse. The situation is very grim and our able youth are living the grimmest nightmare, one which brings new government diktats seeking to deprive them of their land rights, natural resources, livelihoods and freedom. There has been no respite,” he said.
Abdullah further said that there is a great need to come up with a “youth project” that seeks to relocate and rejuvenate the disenfranchised energies of educated and capable youth.
Talking about the unemployment problem, he said the much touted promises of local and central governments on investment and fast-tracking of recruitment have fallen flat. “On the contrary, unemployment in all the regions of J&K has seen a manifold increase, which also has a cascading effect on other social and health issues particularly in our youth,” he said.
He maintained that NC remains committed to revision and revival of a youth policy that will create a situation where in J&K youth will get education, employment and remain free from drug abuse, parochialisation, sectarianism, and communalism.
