Centre must compensate J

Srinagar, Dec 20 (UNI) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti today said the Centre must compensate Jammu and Kashmir for the recurring massive losses it was suffering due to the highly discriminatory Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

Addressing a party convention at Pulwama in south Kashmir, she said the major cause of the state's power crisis was the IWT due to which all the three regions -- Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh -- were facing acute shortage of electricity.

''While there is a power crisis in Jammu during summer, it is terrible in Kashmir during winters,'' Ms Mufti said, adding the Centre has to mitigate and compensate for the state's power crisis as the IWT was its domain.

Ironically, while the northern states of India and major areas of Pakistan were flourishing on the water resources of Jammu and Kashmir, the state itself was facing darkness,'' she lamented.

The PDP president said till a long-term compensation package was worked out for the losses Jammu and Kashmir was suffering due to the IWT, the Centre must release additional power to the state to tide over the ongoing power crisis, especially in the Valley.

Expressing dismay over the continuing plight of the victims of earthquake, floods and snow storm, she said all the families who have suffered due to the natural calamities should be brought under Below Poverty Line (BPL) category for issuance of subsidised ration.

To turn around the state's economy, Ms Mufti said the Congress-PDP coalition government has embarked on a massive infrastructure development programme in all vital sectors.

She said some of the major projects initiated by the coalition government include extension of north-south corridor to Srinagar, railway line, Mughal Road, Srinagar Airport, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Islamic University of Science and Technology besides setting up of north and south campuses of Kashmir University and upgrading hundreds of educational and health institutions.

A lot still needs to be done and the coalition government was striving hard to set up a sound infrastructure base in the state for sustainable economic prosperity, Ms Mufti added.

The PDP chief said the ministers and other government functionaries should regularly visit far-flung and remote areas of the state to take stock of the problems of the people and ensure speedy redressal of the grievances.

She said the people's expectations with the government have grown manifold which has also increased the responsibilities of the state functionaries. ''The government functionaries must try their utmost to fulfill their responsibilities as the representatives of the people,'' Ms Mufti added.

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