Jammu, June 25: Apni Party provincial president Jammu and former minister S. Manjit Singh on Sunday expressed concern over an “unruly” delay in the holding of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir saying it has caused anxiety among the people.
“The people of J&K were expecting that the assembly elections would be announced while addressing the growing concerns of the people from both regions. The issues of general masses have multiplied for the last several years without an elected government,” Singh said while addressing a meeting as a part of a public outreach programme in Rajpura village in Ramgarh Tehsil of Samba district.
The meeting was organised by District President, Legal Cell Samba, Adv Sahil Bharti. The meeting was attended by Apni Party workers, PRIs, and prominent people who expressed their disappointment with regard to the unexpected events to delay the restoration of the democratic system in Jammu and Kashmir, the party said in a statement.
While addressing the meeting, S. Manjit Singh expressed disappointment towards the delay in the restoration of democratic systems in Jammu and Kashmir saying it has affected the general masses and every section of society. “The failure of the bureaucracy in keeping the pace of development and addressing growing issues of public concern has given rise to the rise of the feeling of alienation that has remained unaddressed,” he said.
“The hot summers need a supply of round-the-clock electricity in urban and rural areas, but the PDD has not been able to meet the demands. It has been learned that the PDD has not purchased the required demand of electricity that could be supplied to the consumers who have been charged heavily even after unscheduled power cuts for long hours,” he added.
The Apni Party leader said that the power cuts have also affected the drinking water supply, and the canal water to the fields. “The water pumps do not work without electricity. The canal water system does not reach to the tail-end villages and the fields remain without irrigational facilities especially when there is no electricity,” he added.
“If there had been an elected government, the issues could be resolved instantly without delay, but the elections seem not suitable for a political party that has lost its ground because of mistrust among the people,” he said.