Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 5: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today welcomed decision of the Centre to advise State Government to identify pieces of land measuring approximately 200 acres in both Jammu and Kashmir regions respectively for setting of AIIMS. Party also appreciated decision of the AIIMS Coordination Committee to call off its bandh call.
Addressing a meeting of senior party leaders and workers here this afternoon, Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar hailed this decision and said that process to set up premier health institutions in both the regions would be expedited as the State Government is committed to provide better health facilities to the people. He observed that the needs of the state’s two distinct regions have been considered favourably by the Centre.
Pointing towards topography of the State, Mr Akhtar said that people of Jammu prefer to go to treatment in Chandigarh than to come to Kashmir. “There are huge physical barriers due to the highway so patients from Kashmiri find it easier to fly down to Delhi as there are many options available there”, he said
Taking a dig at political groups, who unnecessarily tried to create confusion on a settled issue, he regretted that the forces, which were rejected by the people in two successive elections, had brazenly tried to reap political benefits by instigating people on a non-issue.
Reiterating resolve of his party to provide better health facilities to the people of all regions and sub-regions of the State, he said that core ideology of PDP is to bring unity among different regions and sub-regions of the State to ensure equitable and balanced growth. “We are here to enhance capacity building in the State to provide better facilities to the people”, he said and added that during the last five years State Government has taken numerous revolutionary steps in this direction.
Speaking on the occasion, senior PDP leaders took NC and Congress leaders to task for raking up a settled issue only to hoodwink the gullible masses for cheap politics.
“What they have done during their tenure to improve basic infrastructure in the State?”, they asked and added that except befooling the people nothing has been done during the last six years to provide facilities to the commoners.
Coming down heavily on a tall leader who enacted drama at the venue where Coordination Committee members were staging dharna, they said that the leader and his party was known for enacting such dramas and they conducted same drama from 2008 to 2014 that was the reason that they were outrightly rejected by the people in recently held Parliament and Assembly elections.
“Another tall leader has written a letter to the Prime Minister to sanction AIIMS for Jammu”, they pointed out, adding, “This tall leader was at the helm of the affairs for five long years at the Centre but he has done nothing to improve health facilities in J&K”.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Sardar Rafiq Hussain Khan, ex-Minister, Daman Bhasin, general secretary, Ved Mahajan, Shanti Devi, Jatinder Bhat, R K Bali, Capt Anil Gour, Chatter Singh Saini, Satpal Singh Charak, Rajinder Manhas and others.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel