Empty vessels make much noise. Giving great media hype to contemplated projects and raising the pitch of government’s seriousness in floating new projects of development, public conscience has now become insensitive. . Our democracy is gradually getting reduced to publicity and no practicality. Political parties evince no interest in taking a political leader to task if he makes public commitments but, later on, he is unable to see it through.
People have had enough of promises broken and commitments never fulfilled. They have now become immune to the harangues of political leaders knowing that it is only clap-trap and no sincerity.
For many years in the past, Jammu people have been given the lollypop of artificial lake on the Tawi and the Jammu Ropeway. The two projects have been linked to the rhetoric of Jammu tourism. These days, many high-sounding words and phrases are expressed about making good the loss of tourism in Kashmir for many decades in the past and now diverting full attention to Jammu region tourist spots. One wonders if it is only the lip-service and no real intention behind all this drama of bringing Jammu at par with Srinagar in the realm of tourism. We are told of grandiose scheme of conservation of heritage fund of Jammu, of border tourism, of beautification of Tawi banks and shifting of many offices including the bus stand to different places in the city to decongest the flow of vehicular traffic and expanding sources of entertainment for the Jammu citizenry like children’s and women’s parks and playgrounds etc.
People are shocked to know what the State Tourism Minister told the Assembly on the floor of the house about two much trumpeted projects of Jammu, namely the artificial lake and the Jammu Ropeway. The Minister said that creation of Artificial Lake as one of the components of the project titled “Design and Construction of Auto Mechanically Operated Gated Barrage Tawi’, was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 70 crore several years back. However, an amount of Rs 57.35 crore has been spent till March 31, 2016 on the project. The reason of non completion of the project after spending so much of money was non availability of remaining amount of 6.25 crore rupees as the third instalment sanctioned under the 13th Finance Commission recommendations. The Minister said monsoon and the floods of 2014 were also responsible for the delay in the project.
We are amused at these flimsy arguments of the concerned authorities to exonerate themselves of the responsibility of delivering the goods in good time. Two years have gone by when floods occurred. And about monsoon, these summer rains are a recurring feature of the local climate. The planners were not new to the geography and climate of Jammu region. They will have taken all these aspects into consideration at the time of drawing the blue print of the project. As such flimsy reasons like monsoons and floods are put forth.
Likewise in the case of Jammu Ropeway, it will be recollected that only a few months back there was jubilation among the people of the city that all hurdles in the way of Jammu Ropeway were removed and the project was now ready for launch. But now the Tourism Minister has re-orchestrated the old rhetoric of clearance from various agencies like Forest and Environment etc. in the case of the Ropeway.
This amounts to playing with the sentiments of the people to say the least. People’s trust in political leadership is dwindling for right reasons. It is now for the politicians to ruse how they are envisaged and profiled and how far would they like to legitimize the unfulfilled promises syndrome. People are now pessimistic about other much hyped tourist projects for Jammu. At one point it was believed that the shortage of funds had been overcome and major projects would move swiftly towards their final state of completion. Our hopes are belied and so have the government played with the sentiments of the people.
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