Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference General Secretary, Haji Ali Muhammad Sagar, on Monday said that only NC can galvanize the developmental tempo and tap the tourism potential of Srinagar city to the fullest.
He said this at the party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha while interacting with the party functionaries from the Srinagar areas.
He stated that the previous NC government led by Omar Abdullah sahib had pursued policies to materialize its vision of ensuring core civic facilities and effective public utility services to the city dwellers across the length and breadth of the city. The successive governments, however, he said consigned all those mega infrastructure and tourism projects to deep cold storage.
Referring to the absence of elected representatives, Sagar said, “Working their way through the hierarchies and multiple sections in different departments to have their issues addressed is a tedious process. The responsibilities are, more often than not, passed on by officials. The smart city mission was slated to transform Srinagar into an eco-friendly, resilient, and socio-economically vibrant city that celebrates its natural and cultural heritage, creating harmony and opportunities for all.”
Referring to the LCMA’s insensitive eviction drive that has put livelihoods and habitats in Nishat, Shalimar, and Harwan at risk, Sagar said, “Lack of stakeholder involvement in policy conception and design and then decrees by the government that, at times, tend to be irrational. All in all, people’s lives get affected and misery ensues. This has to end. Conservation of the Dal Lake, and its ecosystem has to be carried out expeditiously but the process has to be least disruptive to adjoining populations.”
Visiting functionaries also raised the issue of the absence of a filtration plant in Harwan and its adjoining areas. Sagar, who was all ears to the issues aired by the party functionaries, assured them that he would take up the matter at all appropriate levels for early mitigation.
Among others, YNC President Kashmir, Salman Ali Sagar, and Block Youth President Abid Wani were also present on the occasion.
