‘Happy to join campaign against obesity’
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Feb 24: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today while stressing for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir said that many critical issues cannot be effectively addressed under Union Territory (UT) status.
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Speaking to reporters at the SKUAST-K here, Omar said that his Government would continue its fight for restoration of Statehood.
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“Why am I fighting for Statehood? Because I know the limitations of a UT. There are issues that require full Statehood for resolution, and we will continue our efforts on both fronts,” he said.
Omar reaffirmed his Government’s commitment to fulfilling promises made in the party’s manifesto, emphasizing that these pledges were meant for a full five-year term.
“Our manifesto was not for five days or five weeks; it was for five years. We know what we have promised, and we will deliver,” he said.
Omar said his Government would keep doing both together. “What we can achieve in a Union Territory, we will do that. For issues for which we need Statehood, we are getting Statehood.”
The Chief Minister, however, refused to comment on his government’s first budget.
“It will be wrong to say anything on the budget. The responsibility of the Govern-ment is to present the budget in the Assembly first. So, I will not say anything about it,” he said.
Asked about apprehensions of water scarcity due to the absence of good rain and snowfall during the winter, the Chief Minister said he understood the fear.
“We have a rainfall deficit of about 80 per cent. So, when there is little rain or snowfall, it can lead to shortage of water in the summers. So, I had said we need to prepare for the summer months because it is possible that there can be water scarcity not just for agriculture but household use as well,” he said.
“The people have to make changes in the way water is used,” he said.
“The Government needs to take steps like rainwater harvesting and saving glaciers. We will take steps in consultation with the agriculture and the Jal Shakti Departments to devise ways for providing irrigation water to farmers,” he added.
Omar said he was happy to join the campaign against obesity, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was among 10 people nominated by the PM to join the campaign.
The Chief Minister emphasized the importance of tackling obesity, calling it a growing lifestyle disease. He praised the Prime Minister’s initiative to spread awareness about obesity and urged people to adopt healthier habits. “If we stay healthy, our children will study better, hospitals will face less pressure, and overall life expectancy will improve,” he remarked.
Among those nominated by Omar for the campaign are Biocon Limited founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, businessman Sajjan Jindal, actor Deepika Padukone, former tennis player Sania Mirza, former cricketer Irfan Pathan, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule and former Wushu star Kuldeep Handoo.
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