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J-K a ‘jewel’ of country, Centre will soon come out with industrial package for UT: Goyal

JAMMU: Describing Jammu and Kashmir as
a
jewel
of the
country, Union minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said the
Centre would
comeout
with an
industrial
package
for the Union Territory
soon and expressed hope that it would attract large amounts
of investment to the valley.

The Minister
for Railways and Commerce also announced that Kashmir would be linked
with the rest
of the
country by train by December next year.

He asserted that development work has gathered pace in Jammu and Kashmir, especially after June 18, 2018 when the erstwhile state came under Governor’s rule.

“I am very happy at the progress (
of development) that I have seen on the ground and I am sure that in the days and months to
come this process
will continue relentlessly. We
will
soon
come
out
with an
industrial
package and we hope to see large amounts
of investment coming to Kashmir,” he told reporters at the Jammu airport before returning to Delhi.

Goyal was in Jammu as part
a week-long public outreach programme initiated by the
Centre to apprise people
of the potential benefits
of the revocation
of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status after nullification
of Article 370
of the Constitution.

He was part
of the second batch
of seven Union ministers who reached Jammu and addressed
a series
of public meetings and inaugurated various projects in different districts.

Besides Goyal, other Union ministers who visited different parts
of Jammu as part
of the week-long outreach programme included Smriti Irani, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Arjun Ram Meghwal, V Muraleedharan, Anurag Thakur, Jitendra Singh, R K Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey.

“What we have heard since our childhood that it is paradise on earth. It was paradise on earth and it
will remain so as well. It is
a
jewel
of the
country and truly
a paradise on earth and I am proud
of Jammu and Kashmir,” Goyal said.

Article 370 was nullified in August 5, 2019 and the state was bifurcated into Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh — that came into effect on October 31.

Goyal inaugurated
a flood protection project, an indoor stadium and various roads completed under Prime Minister’s Grameen Sadak Yojna, besides addressing
a public gathering in Akhnoor on the outskirts
of Jammu.

“Jammu and Kashmir people have become the monitors
of development and
with their participation, it is reaching to the grass-roots level. The work on railway bridge over Chenab river, which was facing slow progress over the years, has gathered speed and
for the first time the allocation
of funds was utilised fully,” he said.

The minister said the prime minister gave his nod when more funds were demanded to speed up the work
of the railway bridge which
will link Katra and Banihal towns in Jammu and complete the railway track from Baramulla in north kashmir to Kanyakumari.

“After the completion
of the railway line, the whole
country
will get connected. Anyone travelling from Kanyakumari to Kashmir can feel proud…the bridge is an engineering marvel and our engineers and workers are doing
a great job by building the world largest bridge,” he said, adding “we
will continue the pace
of work next year and are hopeful
of connecting this vital 111-km railway track by December 2021″.

He said the union ministers get encouraged when they visit this “sacred land”.

Expressing his desire to visit Kashmir to enjoy the beauty
of the winter, Goyal said, “I request (Farooq) Khan sahib (advisor to Lt Governor G C Murmu who was sitting near him) to invite me to Kashmir. I am going to visit Kashmir.”

After Jammu and Kashmir came under Governor’s rule in June 2018, the development work gained speed and
with the bifurcation
of the erstwhile state into UTs, many central laws which were not applicable and depriving the people
of their rights came into force.

Referring to various development projects that were completed after the fall
of the erstwhile PDP-BJP government, he said many development projects which were left incomplete over the past many decades witnessed fast-paced work under the administration
of Lt Governor.

“I understand that people want improved services, impartiality in development works and high speed development, accountable government and information about the work being done,” he said.

He said the situation in the valley is normal and said “as many as 99 per cent students took part in their exams without any problem, while tourism, shops and business is functioning normally. (Prepaid) Mobile phones also started functioning yesterday.”

Asked about the opposition charge that the public outreach programme
of the
Centre is
a “propaganda tour” and
a move to divert attention
of the people
of the
country from real issues, he said, “If there is any shortcoming in my statement, then it is
a propaganda but if we are putting forward the reality before the nation, where the question
of propaganda arises.”

Expressing displeasure over the accusation by opposition leaders, he said does the opposition mean to suggest that Kashmir did not deserve the attention that it is getting.

“Is the opposition unhappy that we have taken the development to every remote corner
of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh? This is exactly the point that we were always harping that some sections
of the political establishment did not want development to reach the remotest corners
of Jammu and Kashmir, just like it did not want to reach in the Northeast.

“In the last five years, we had the ability, each one
of us would go to the northeast and the very presence
of all
of us helped generate so much enthusiasm that the entire landscape in the Northeast is now transformed and we would wish to see the same transformation journey and progress and development in Kashmir,” he said.

Source: Economic Times