Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 14: Apni Party today staged a massive protest demonstration against scrapping of Self Help Group scheme of engineers in Jammu and Kashmir which has deprived the educated and qualified engineers from their participation in Govt projects.
Led by Provincial president Manjit Singh, the Apni Party leaders assembled here at Dogra Chowk to demand restart the SHG scheme in the Union Territory which had provided livelihood opportunities to the jobless engineers in a unique way.
Shouting slogans against the unilateral decision of the Govt, the Apni Party leaders staged a protest and alleged thousands of families have been affected with the decision which needs to be reconsidered.
The protest was organised by Apni Party leader Pranav Shagotra and Raqeeq Ahmed Khan in which Ex-MLA from Chenani Faqir Natha, Provincial President Women Wing Namrta Sharma, Shanker Singh Chib, RK Lalotra, Surdeesh Rana, Gourav Kapoor, Abhay Bakaya, Joginder Singh, Vijay Hateshi, Ghulam Mohammed Shah, Vaibhav Mattoo, Jagmeet Singh Bali, Simranjeet Singh and others participated.
“Abandoning successful scheme like SHG has given a setback to the hopes of people, particularly unemployed youth who are looking for jobs and Govt support in various schemes,” said Manjit Singh, addressing the protesters.
Singh said that the decision of Govt has given hopelessness to the educated youth after the skilled and well qualified engineers rendered workless despite their performance.
When the 17-year-old SHG scheme existed in J&K, he said, the pass-out engineers would form their self help groups after completing all the formalities and register themselves with the Labour Department. Accordingly, he said, they were given work in the shape of 30% share in different projects.
He said Govt must re-implement the SHG scheme in Jammu and Kashmir.
Instead of launching such innovative ideas to involve youth in developmental activities of the Union Territory, the Provincial President Women Wing Namrta Sharma said, the Govt has shut the doors of development and given rise to supremacy of bureaucracy in which public participation has been snatched in Govt projects.
Speaking on the occasion, Apni Party leader Pranav Shagotra said, “The SHG engineers and youth involved with them in several projects have become workless and their families are at the verge of starvation.”
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