Hope Governor rule in J&K will not be for long: NN Vohra

Jammu, Jan 26: As uncertainty continues over the formation of the next government, Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra on Tuesday expressed hope that the ongoing spell of Governor's Rule in the state will "not be for long".

Unfurling the national tricolor here on the Republic Day, he said the state has suffered a lot because of cross-border terrorism and hoped that the fresh peace initiatives launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Pakistan would bear fruit and the people here would be able to live and work in a peaceful environment.

"Unfortunately, after a brief illness, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed suddenly passed away in early January this year. Consequently, the state is placed under Governor’s rule, which I hope shall not be for long," he said in his address at MA Stadium here.

His comments come amidst continued uncertainty over the formation of the next government as PDP, which was heading the previous coalition government with BJP, has made no moves in this regard ever since Sayeed passed away on January 7.

Vohra said while the erstwhile Sayeed government had commenced certain initiatives, economic investment and growth has not so far taken off for varied reasons, which include inadequate financial resources, poor connectivity, high transportation cost of raw materials and acute shortage of power.

He said for the past several years, the state government has been implementing various central schemes for providing opportunities to the unemployed youth to develop and upgrade their skills.

"Some progress has been achieved but the unemployment levels remain high and much more needs to be done and at a faster pace," he said.

PTI