Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Saturday expressed concern on the rural distress in Jammu and Kashmir, saying “the post August, 2019 policies of the government runs in the opposite direction of the steps required to fix the rural issues”.
State Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said this while addressing a workers meeting at Town Hall Kulgam today. Among others District President Kulgam Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi, Municipal Council Chairman Muneeb Zargar were also present on the occasion.
Lambasting the callous attitude of the administration towards farmers, horticulturalists, who have suffered massive losses due to recent adverse weather conditions, Imran said, “Exploitation, price fluctuations, unregulated market, lack of cold storage facilities, price hike of pesticides and fertilizers, high cost of transport are some of the major challenges being faced by the horticulturalists, diary farmers and paddy cultivators in Kashmir province. The losses incurred by weather vagaries have further compounded their worries. Agriculture sector is the back bone of our region’s economy, but this pivotal sector has for the past eight years failed to give any returns to the growers, and if left unattended it could lead to a grave humanitarian crisis of grower suicides,” he said.
It seems that the administration, Imran said, instead of assessing the damage on ground, has been fixing the compensation for our calamity hit farmers, sitting behind the four walls of their offices. calling out the cut in social security spending, as well as allocations for procurement of crops, crop insurance, food and fertiliser subsidies, he said all these moves are likely to add fuel to the fire of the rural crisis.
District President Kulgam Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi in his address said, “The blueprint for making smart villages in South Kashmir, particularly Kulgam, was put into a cold storage by successive governments since 2015.”
The challenges in rural areas, Larmi said, are massive. “Some general challenges faced by our people are unemployment, lack of infrastructure, transportation, medical facilities, fundamental needs (electricity, drinking water, sanitation, communication), and geographical inaccessibility. Nothing substantial has been done to upgrade the existing infrastructure,” he said.
Among others the party VP district Mubarak Raina, Jt Secretary Bashir Naik, Block President Ijaz Shah, YNC District VP Mushtaq Shah, party functionaries were also present on the occasion.
Later, the party delegation including Imran Nabi Dar and District President Kulgam Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi visited Mattan, Anantnag to express condolences and sympathies and condolences with noted Journalist Mudasir Qadri on the demise of his revered father. The duo offered Fatiha for the deceased and prayed for peace to his soul in the highest echelons of Jannat.
