Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 31: Provincial President National Conference Devender Singh Rana today called for collective response to tackling unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir, saying putting this burgeoning issue under the carpet could have serious ramifications for youth, who are lately feeling a sense of neglect and deprivation.
“The problems concerning youth should not be allowed to fall in the din of politics and all the parties must rise above party lines to find-out a viable roadmap to generate employment and employability”, Rana said while interacting with people at Dhoke Waziran in Nagrota Assembly Constituency this afternoon, after laying foundation stone of a community hall.
He said the Government of the time should not feel shy in adopting any sound suggestion or mechanism even if being offered by the political opponents to address the problems of unemployed educated youth in particular. He said growing unemployment has cast a shadow of frustration upon the unemployed, as they find their future bleak. He said employability assumes larger significance in view of limited openings in the Government sector, which is why a pragmatic and futuristic Sher-e-Kashmir Employment Welfare Policy for Youth (SKEWPY) had been conceived and evolved after thorough deliberations by the previous Government led by Omar Abdullah.
“Instead of shelving SKEWPY or going slow on it, a renewed thought is needed to be given for the effective implementation of this programme that will not only push up the growth but make unemployed as employers in a period of time”, Rana said and regretted that the number of unemployed registered under the programme in the State has come down from 6 lakh to 80,000.
“This is a matter of concern, which should be taken note of in order to take corrective measures in implementing such programmes in letter and spirit”, he said, adding that other options could also be considered to have a strategy based on consensus. The objective of all the political parties should be to empower the youth rather than depriving them of the opportunities to stand on their own legs, he added.
He made a passionate appeal to the political spectrum across the State to rise to the occasion and work for stitching a viable employment policy for skilled, unskilled and educated unemployed. A holistic approach is needed to address this issue, which has potential of eating up the very vitals of society as a whole, he added.
Earlier, Rana, who is also MLA Nagrota, laid foundation stone of a community Hall, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 10 lakh out of his Constituency Development Fund. He said the facility will be of immense utility for community purposes and holding get-together on various social occasions.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
