Mehbooba called on Governor , discusses problems facing the state

Srinagar, June 15 ::: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti called for revival of peace process by carrying forward the confidence building measures that had brought about a qualitative change in the state but had been held back over the past five years. She conveyed her feelings and perspective on the uneasy situation prevailing in the state to Governor N N Vohra here today.During her one and half hour meeting with Governor Mehbooba told the governor how lack of progress in the peace process had revived the feelings of cynicism and alienation that had been neutralized to some extent under the previous government. She said there has been no progress on taking the cross LoC trade and travel to its next level in accordance with the original vision. She told the governor that by now the volume of trade should have increased and its scope expanded manifold.Similarly the hassles faced in travel across the LoC should have been removed and the facility should have become available to all sections of society and not remained restricted to the divided families alone.While discussing the up coming Amarnath Yatra Mehbooba told the governor that this prilgrimage has historically been part of Kashmiri ethos and culture of hospitality. She told him that it was necessary to involve all local stake holders in its conduct so that its economic benefits reach the deserving sections of population and the traditional spirit of this pilgrimage is fully revived.Mehbooba discussed with the Governor the difficulties faced by the people on account of the incompetence and in sensitivity of the present government. She told him how the state had been unable to benefit from centrally sponsored schemes which offer unlimited access to funds in different socio economic sectors. She conveyed her concern to the Governor about the inability of the government to spend fully and purposefully even the funds received under the normal plan which had resulted in the virtual lapsing of funds to the tune of Rs= 2100 crores last year. She told the Governor as to how on the other hand the government was unable to pay bills for amounts that it owed to contractors and suppliers bringing the development process to a halt.Referring to the increasing unemployment problem Mehbooba told the governor that the failure to create new avenues of employment was adversely effecting a whole generation of qualified and educated youth. She said even though government of India had made announcements about many schemes but the lack of a matching seriousness in followup had rendered them almost useless.The Governor and the PDP president exchanged the views on a range of other problems facing the state. They discussed the problem of corruption, lack of accountability, the shortage of amenities and above all the crisis faced by the poser sector. Mehbooba told the Governor as to how it was crucial for the state to develop sustainable power resources not just for providing relief to people in their daily lives but also establish an industrial base that ultimately could take care of the unemployment problem.