Srinagar, June 23: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said those who gave youth guns and stones were never well-wishers of Kashmiri people. The situation in the valley has improved.
“ School closures, strike calls, and explosions have been controlled and there is an atmosphere of peace in the region,” he said.
After laying the foundation stones of various development projects in Kashmir, Shah addressed the gathering at Rajbhawan Srinagar and said that earlier development funds used to go into the pockets but common people are getting the fruits of development.
“Those who handed over guns and stones to youth were never well-wishers of Kashmiri people. The future of Youth doesn’t lie in guns and stones, but they should pick up laptops and march ahead as there are huge opportunities waiting for you in big Indian and global markets,” Shah said.
The Home Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given new life to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Schools, roads, and other infrastructure are being upgraded in the UT.
Shah said the situation in Kashmir has changed a lot over the past few years. School closures, strike calls, and explosions have been controlled and there is an atmosphere of peace,” he said.
He said three families including Gandhi’s, Abdullah’s, and the Mufti’s never let J&K have a thriving democracy at the grassroots level. “Panchayat elections were never held here for 70 years. PM Modi demonstrated the necessary will to see that Panchayat elections are held in J&K and that democracy permeates every hamlet, he said.
He said that many people had diverse opinions and forecasts when it was decided to hold a G20 meeting in Srinagar, including former state minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Home Minister Shah praised the UT administration led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for the G20 summit in Srinagar being successfully hosted and claimed that “all these predictions were proven to be false.”
He added that Kashmir’s tourism sector would receive a significant boost from the G20 meeting’s successful hosting.
Shah said in the year 2022 1.88 Crore tourists visited Kashmir. More tourists are expected this year. To accommodate the huge rush of tourists, hotel room capacity across the Valley will go up three times in the next five years,” he said.
The Home Minister said people will not face any issues while accommodating tourists. “Last time when I visited Kashmir, many people complained to him that they couldn’t get taxis. I ensure that every person is entitled to get a taxi after proper security verification. There was a rule that only those whose fathers or grandfathers were owing taxis are entitled for new taxis but that is not the case now,” he added.
“For a long time, the people of J&K had never complained about anything. I have been regularly visiting J&K once a year for the past 5 years. Under the dynamic leadership of PM Modi, J&K particularly has given them a new lease of life,” he said.
Shah said due to these efforts of PM, projects worth 500 crores are being inaugurated today for the welfare of the people. Now poor people are getting direct benefits of the 5 lakh rupees health insurance cover under central schemes, he said.
“PM-JAY is the world’s largest health insurance scheme fully financed by the government. It provides a cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private impanelled hospitals in India,” he said.
Shah said for the first time, J&K people are benefiting from a lot of small schemes. “Farmers never got any money in their accounts in the last 70 years, but 12.45 lakh farmers of J&K are getting Rs 6000 in their accounts yearly.
He said the money was never an issue for J&K but that it would never reach the right person and due to unprecedented corruption crores of rupees would go to waste.
“J&K politicians bought palatial houses in foreign and they would spend winters in foreign every year,” he said.
Shah said that today there are top institutions in Kashmir including AIIMS, IIM, and IIT people are reaping the benefits. The Home Minister announced that Dal Lake and Tatoo Ground will be major attractions of Kashmir where every Indian would love to visit Srinagar.
For residents of Jammu and Kashmir, the government constructed 1.86 lakh homes over the course of the last four years, and through DBT, it distributed Rs 23,000 crore to those who benefited from various programs.
The home minister further urged people to take action and join the development march in order to realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a tranquil and prosperous Jammu & Kashmir.
Under the leadership of PM Modi, a new milestone has been achieved in the development journey of Jammu and Kashmir today.
He said that the foundation stone and inauguration of various development works of about Rs.586 crore have been done here today which will benefit about 22 lakh people and will make their daily life easier.
Shah said that when pure drinking water reaches a house, it not only removes the problem of the woman who has to fetch water from far away, but also bring a qualitative improvement in the health of the whole family.
Similarly, 100 schools are being modernized at par with the rest of the country so that the children of the valley are not deprived of modern education. He said PM has decided to bring watershed changes in Jammu and Kashmir to give right of a happy life to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the Valley.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that lakhs of citizens have benefited from various small schemes in Jammu and Kashmir. He said PM Modi is providing Rs. 6,000 every year in the bank accounts of over 12.45 lakh farmers of Jammu and Kashmir so that they do not need to take loans.
He said that under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, farmers of Jammu and Kashmir have received Rs. 100 crore in three years. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the work to provide fluoride-free tap water to over 11.96 lakh families has been completed. He said that there were over 13.80 lakh families who did not have toilets in their houses even after 70 years of independence, and the construction of toilets in these houses was completed in just 5 years.
Shah said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is providing 5 kg rice per person per month free of cost to over 65.91 lakh people of Jammu and Kashmir. The government has also provided houses to about 1.86 lakh people.
He also said that under the Srinagar Smart City Limited, many projects including multi-level parking, smart lighting, integrated command and development of parks have been initiated with an expenditure of Rs. 345 crore. Many new medical colleges, degree colleges and nursing colleges have also been opened, Shah added.
