Omar Abdullah asks people to shun violence

Asking people to shun violence, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah today said his government is vigorously working to facilitate internal and external dialogues to address the state's political issues and help cultivate permanent peace.

"While we firmly believe internal dialogue is imperative to provide platform for all shades of opinion in the State to ventilate their views, we consider Indo-Pak talks essential in evolving amicable solution to all Jammu and Kashmir centric issues in consonance with the aspirations of the people of the state," he said addressing a public gathering Gurez.

Noting that peacefully addressing the issues was the only way out, the chief minister said violence was no answer to any problem.

"Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed the gun culture for more than twenty years yielding only destruction and bloodshed," he said.

Omar said that stone pelting and shut downs only result in economic, social and educational depression and will never help to address any issue.

He said the continuous hartals and stone pelting in parts of the Valley during last two months have affected the education of children and snatched bread earning opportunity from daily wage labourers, transporters, small shopkeepers and traders.

The chief minister said that the perpetrators of this kind of tactics should realize the damage they are doing to their own people. "Aisa karne se hum Kashmir ko kahan le ja rahe hain aur apne bachon ke mustaqbil ko kis tarah daw par laga rahe hain" (Where are we dragging Kashmir and how we are damaging the future of our children by indulging in this practice).

On development, Omar said that despite problems on the law and order front in some parts of Kashmir, government has carried forward its agenda of speedy development across the state.

He said rural and far flung areas like Gurez have been flagged as important areas in the development agenda of his government.

"Every effort will be made to improve and upgrade the conditions of backward areas and help faster development", Omar said.

The chief minister said his government has taken up the issue of construction of a tunnel to link Gurez with the Valley and make road communication in the area dependable.

"We want to bore a tunnel to connect Gurez with the valley in a similar way as has been proposed for Zojila (connecting Ladakh with Kashmir)".

Omar said a special drive for recruitment in the police department for the youth of Gurez will be organized after Eid. He said the engagement of trained nurses of Gurez under NHRM will also be considered actively.

The chief minister asked the deputy commissioner to furnish him with the list of employees of Kishen-Ganga Project indicating the number of locals employed there.

"We have already asked the Central Government to engage available local educated, skilled and non-skilled youth in the central projects and I want to ascertain whether project directors are adhering to this requirement" he said.

Omar also inspected the damage caused by the incessant rains to the potato and maize crop in Gurez and directed the concerned authorities to assess the damages and send a report to him immediately.