Omar thanks Home Minister Shah for reopening 14 tourist destinations in J-K
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for reopening 14 tourist destinations in the Union Territory, which were closed in April last year following the Pahalgam terror attack.
"Recently, the Union home minister had come to Jammu and I had talks with him. Before that, I met him in Delhi as well. My request with regard to tourism was that the areas which have been closed should be reopened. There is no purpose served by keeping these destinations closed. We did not close these places even at the worst of times.
"I was assured by the home minister that these places will be reopened and orders for the same have now been issued. I am thankful to the home minister for that. The local people have borne losses (due to closure). Now, I hope people will visit these beautiful places," Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
The lieutenant governor, who heads the security apparatus in Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday ordered the reopening of 11 tourist destinations in Kashmir and three in the Jammu region. These destinations were among the 80-odd places which were shut down for visitors in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 last year that left 26 persons, mostly tourists, dead.
On the controversial remarks made by BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa, the chief minister said the truth has prevailed. "The truth did come out after that. The case was against him (Randhawa). If my information is correct, a case was filed against him for occupying government land," Abdullah said.
He alleged there is always a difference in the words and deeds of BJP leaders.
"It is a trait of the BJP that there is a difference in their words and deeds. They talk about Jammu and Kashmir and nominated a person to the Rajya Sabha from here. He spent 90 per cent of his (MPLAD) funds in Uttar Pradesh.
"He (Ghulam Ali Khatana) is from J-K. He has taken an official house here. Khatana sahib lives here and works from here but when it comes to CDF, he spends 90 per cent of it in UP," Abdullah alleged.
Asked about electricity supply during the month of Ramzan, the chief minister said he is scheduled to chair a meeting of officials where all aspects and arrangements will be reviewed.
"We would make all efforts to ensure that people face the least amount of difficulty during the holy fasting month," he added.
On the protests by daily wagers, Abdullah said there is no need for the street protests as the government has announced on the floor of the Assembly that they shall be regularised this year as per a scheduled process.
"It has been said on the floor of the Assembly that they will be regularised through a process under a time table. If somebody is provoking them for political benefits, they should not become tools in their hands.
"I will listen to you and do anything if you ask with love. Try intimidating me, then nothing will happen. If they have something to say, they should come and tell me. These street protests are not good for them or their future. We have said they will be regularised this year in a time-bound manner," he added.
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Rahul Gandhi calls Great Nicobar Island project a ‘major threat’ to environment, tribal heritage
Sri Vijaypuram (Port Blair)/ Nicobar: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Centre’s development initiative in Great Nicobar Island on Wednesday, On his maiden visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gandhi alleged that the project will lad to large-scale environmental degradation and displacement of local communities.
The Rae Bareli MP, in a post on X after visiting the island, said the project would lead to extensive deforestation and adversely impact indigenous populations.
“So I will say it plainly, and I will keep saying it: what is being done in Great Nicobar is one of the biggest scams and gravest crimes against this country’s natural and tribal heritage in our lifetime,” Gandhi added.
“The government calls what it is doing here a ‘Project’. What I have seen is not a project. It is millions of trees marked for the axe… It is communities that have been ignored while their homes have been snatched away,” Gandhi said.
Describing the initiative as “destruction dressed in development’s language”, he termed it one of the “biggest scams” against the country’s natural and tribal heritage and called for it to be stopped.
Gandhi also claimed that nearly 160 square kilometres of rainforest could be affected, raising concerns over ecological damage.
