Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 18: The ruling National Conference (NC) and opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today turned the District Development Board meeting at Bandipora into a virtual battlefield by hurling abuses at each other.
The chairman of the DDB Bandipora and Minister for Tourism, G A Mir, had to intervene and call for lunch to calm down the tempers. The PDP MLC, Nayeem Akhter, boycotted the DDB meeting in the post lunch session in protest against Lone abusing his father.
Sources said that PDP MLA Nizamudin Bhat was making some demands during the meeting for his constituency and he was interrupted by Higher Education Minister Mohammad Akbar Lone.
Sources said that Lone told Bhat that the DDB has only recommendatory role and it is the departments that execute the works. In reply, Bhat told Lone let the demands he has put forward be recommended by the DDB.
Sources said that irked by long list of demands by Bhat, Lone launched at scathing attack on PDP in his trademark style. Shouting at Bhat, Lone said that the PDP is making noise here when these issues are to be raised in the State Assembly, that they boycotted. Bhat replied that the PDP boycotted the Assembly as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed his helplessness in the Assembly. “There was no fun of being inside the Assembly as CM surrendered by showing his inability”, Bhat reportedly told Lone.
Sources said that Lone hit back at Bhat and asked him not to drag Chief Minister’s name into this. Both Lone and Bhat shouted at each other leading to verbal dual between the two”, sources said.
Lone also spoke against the former Chief Minster and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Seeing his patron under attack from Lone, PDP MLC Nayeem Akhater asked chairman DDB Bandipora, Mir to intervene and asked him to stop Lone from speaking against Mufti.
Lone and Akhter traded serious charges against each other in the meeting and passed remarks.
Sources said that this led to commotion in the meeting and Chairman G A Mir tried to pacify the warring leaders. As he failed to manage it, he called for a lunch break to restore calm. Sources said that Akhter later boycotted the meeting as a mark of protest against Lone’s remarks.
Later the meeting continued in the post lunch session and District Bandipora got an outlay of Rs 70.17 crore under District plan for current financial year. The nod in this regard was given in the District Development Board meeting.
The plan includes Capital component of Rs 5097.39 lakh and revenue component of Rs. 1919.54 lakh against last years’ approved annual plan of Rs 6842.43 lakhs. During the last fiscal an expenditure of Rs. 6344.02 lakhs has been incurred on development of the District under various sectors thereby registering 99.46 percent utilization.
Against the current year’s approved District Plan, an amount of Rs 11.20crore would be expended on various road communication works under R&B Sector, Rs 4.10 crore under PHE sector, Rs 9.22 crore under Irrigation sector, Rs 1.88 crore under Agriculture and its allied sectors, over Rs 2.59 crore under Rural Development and Rs 38.01 crore on other Social services in the District.
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