Jammus destiny remains unchanged

Given the alleged discriminatory attitude of the state government towards Jammu region, it can be very well construed that Jammu's destiny is not going to be changed even during the BJP-PDP rule. Even as so-called pro-Jammu BJP is part of the government in J&K, nothing is being done to develop Jammu as a tourist destination. Soon after the formation of BJP-PDP government, then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Syed, now dead, had assured to transform Jammu into an attractive tourist destination and said that the government was committed in this regard. As part of development activities in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, the government had also shown its resolve to expedite work on other development works in Jammu. He had also announced to allocate Rs 50 cr for macadamization of roads in Jammu while saying that eight CRF projects worth Rs 190 cr were being taken up shortly in Jammu division which include Samba-Mansar, Jathana Bridge at Kathua and Hatli roads. Though work on some of the projects was taken up and has been completed, others still continue to be ignored. As promised, Mantalai has still not been developed as International Yoga Centre under the Centre's Swadesh Darshan scheme. Patnitop, Sanasar and Baglihar in Jammu are also yet to receive focussed attention of the government. A golf course at Sanasar with a water sports facility was also promised to be made. The government had also announced that the technology used in Gulmarg Gandola Project would be used in the Jammu Ropeway Project and the process for land acquisition would be expedited so that the work on the project gets started at the earliest. The government had also emphasised the need for improving road connectivity to Basohli for promotion of Ranjit Sagar Dam and to develop it as an independent tourist destination. All these promises are yet to be fulfilled by the government.

It is also unfortunate to note that the state has so far not been able to tap the huge tourism potential of Ranjit Sagar Dam which is ideally located with Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh on one side and the great expanse of the lake on the other. Other promises, like good governance, transparency in system and providing a corruption-free government to the people, are also nowhere in sight. The government is also yet to come true to its commitment of taking care of tertiary medicare in Jammu. It remains to be seen as to when it would turn into a reality. As promised, efforts are also not yet made to further upgrade the super speciality hospital in Jammu. As of now, many government departments are still unresponsive to the people's needs. The government is also yet to work on another all-weather link with tunnels from Chenani-Sudh Mahadev- Khelani to connect the Chenab region.

Apart from its failure to take up development programmes in Jammu region, the government has also failed to operationalise the new recruitment policy to fill vacancies in the government sector on priority. District health services have also not been upgraded to reduce referrals to tertiary health-care institutions. Let government try to fulfil the promises it has made with the people of Jammu after coming to power.