 Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 17: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Provincial President, Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta, today met a women's delegation of Party functionaries from Border Belt of Jammu District headed by Mrs Bimla Luthra former MLA and State Vice President Women Wing JKNC Jammu at the party's Provincial Headquarters, Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan, Jammu.
During the interaction, the delegation raised several issues related to development and employment and sought the intervention of the Omar Abdullah-led government for their effective resolution. The members expressed satisfaction over the extensive development outreach initiated by the elected government in the Border belts of Jammu, stating that the renewed focus on development has instilled fresh hope among local residents for a better future and improved quality of life.
The delegation strongly criticised the previous decade-long BJP rule, terming its promises as "bogus" and alleging that rural Jammu was completely sidelined. They pointed to the lack of focus on job creation, tourism development, basic civic amenities, utility services, and surface connectivity during that period.
Highlighting the untapped potential of the region, the delegation said that areas such as Suchetgarh could be developed as major border tourism destinations on the lines of the Wagah Border of Amritsar (Punjab). They also stressed that the Gharana Wetland Conservation Reserve (Bird Sanctuary) has immense potential to emerge as a prominent tourist destination for nature lovers.
The members further lamented that despite repeated assurances, there has been no significant recruitment in the police and Para Belt from Border Belt of rural Jammu over the past decade, including unfulfilled promises of raising two battalions from the region. They added that these rural areas largely remained outside the development radar during the period from 2015 to 2024. |
