SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Sunday that restoring peace in Jammu and Kashmir rests with those in charge and that his government cannot be blamed for something that doesn’t fall under its domain.
Peace is the cornerstone for everything, including development, tourism and sports, and those in charge have a responsibility to restore it, the CM said.
Responding to a query that Lieutenant Governor has claimed that peace hasn’t fully been restored in J&K yet, Omar said peace should be restored if it doesn’t exist.
“At least we are not blamed for something we are not tasked with. Peace should be restored if it doesn’t exist, even though my government is being targeted for everything. Peace is the cornerstone for everything including today’s program, where we released this special t-shirt of Real-Kashmir, which also conveys the same message,” Omar told the media on the sidelines of a sports event organized by Real-Kashmir FC at TRC football stadium here, adding who would come to play and watch matches in the evening if peace isn’t in place.
Regarding compensation to apple growers who had significant losses due to the recent rains in Kashmir, the chief minister said the government will provide them with compensation following a thorough evaluation of losses.
Omar also said that no vehicle has been reported to be stranded anywhere along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, which has been mostly rendered operational for vehicular movement.“Although the highway has mostly been rendered operational for traffic, a 300-meter stretch of the road that collapsed has not yet been blacktopped. This will be fixed eventually to allow for even faster vehicle movement, but as of right now, none of the vehicles are stranded along NH,” he added.
