Jammu, Sep 10: Apni Party provincial president Jammu and former minister S Manjit Singh has expressed concern over the underdevelopment in Sidhra area that falls under the Jammu Municipal Corporation.
As per a press release, a meeting was organised at Sidhra by the party leaders at SC/ST Basti to discuss various developmental issues being confronted by the people. The meeting was organized by district president SC Wing Jammu Puran Chand Rahi.
During the meeting, the people informed the former minister about the poor lane, drainage, irregular clean drinking water supply and unscheduled power cuts, the statement said, adding that they also raised the issue of development claiming that the concerned authorities were not ready to do any developmental work even after repeated requests in the ST/SC residential colonies.
While referring to their concerns, Manjit Singh said that it was unfortunate to note that the authorities have turned blind eyes towards the suffering of the people although the area in Sidhra falls under JMC.
“The JMC is getting huge funds in the name of development, but the negligence of Sidhra is unbelievable. The authorities should not discriminate against the people and should equally treat the areas and focus on providing equitable development,” he said, adding, “The government officials are not answerable to the people and hence, the people are facing harassment at the hands of the policymakers because there is no elected government in place in Jammu and Kashmir for the last several years.”
Singh further said, “The gap between the government and people has been created by the government officials because they do not work in accordance with the public demand but impose unilateral decisions on them which are not suitable for the public.”
We believe that the public representatives including corporators, PRIs and others should be considered before making any kind of decisions, he said. As far as underdevelopment in Sidhra is concerned, it shows that the JMC has deliberately ignored the SC/ST colonies regarding the basic amenities, he added.
The Apni Party leader demanded that the Legislative Assembly elections should be held in J&K as soon as possible so that the issues of the people in both regions can be addressed. “There is a feeling of despair among the people and the authorities are not listening to them. Therefore, an elected government can address the issues by replacing the present form of government in J&K,” he added.
