Education main instrument to change situation from despair to hope

Tangdhar, Kashmir Jun 24 (UNI) Asserting that education was the main instrument to change the situation from despair to hope, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said spreading higher education to the remote and neglected areas aimed at eradicating the centuries old deprivation and under-development Poverty and unemployment were the main concern of his government and one of the effective ways to address these grave issues was to spread the reach of education in the state, Mr Azad said after inaugurating the newly set up government degree college here today.

Mr Azad said spreading higher education to remote and neglected areas like Tangdhar was aimed at eradicating the centuries old deprivation and under-development.

We have opened the college without the locals making a demand for it, he said and added this was because we fully understood the importance of education for removal of poverty and backwardnes.

He said recently the University of Kashmir has decided to set up an additional camp for the youth of Karnah and other parts of the district who no longer needed to go to Srinagar or elsewhere for post-graduation.

The CM said during the past two and half year he had been visiting the State's far-flung and backward areas where people did not have basic amenities like roads, schools, hospitals and drinking water and which remain cut off from even district headquarters for six months in winter.

Mr Azad said areas like Gurez, Karnah, Machhil, Dachhan, Warwan, Paddar, Marwah or distant habitations in Ladakh region lacked facilities and his government had focused its attention on providing these to every village, howsoever distant, in the state.

The government believed in justice to all areas of the state irrespective of people's religion, political affiliation, caste or geographical location, he asserted.

The Chief Minister referred to the reconstruction of Tangdhar after the devastating earthquake of 2005 and said he was happy to see a new town having emerged over the ruins of the old one.

Mr Azad said he was hopeful of seeing within two years a modern town replacing the quake hit habitation.

UNI BAS AE AS1612