SRINAGAR: Taking a dig at the government propaganda about its achievements during the last four years Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the full page advertisement in todays papers claiming credit for development of Srinagar city was ridiculous to say the least.
The chief spokesperson of the party Naeem Akhtar in a statement said the advertisement thoughtlessly carrying photographs of every body from the PM down to the secretary of a department was not just funny but it rubs salt on the wounds of the people of Srinagar apart from adversely affecting the image of national leadership among the people. They treat the people as fools, Akhtar said.
Akhtar said the advertisement was a poster not of the development or the lack of it in the 3000 year old heritage city under the present dispensation but it exposed the limits of vision and planning among the leadership of this govt.
He said no city including Mogadishu, the capital of war ravaged African nation Somalia, would project construction of dog kennels to its self respecting citizens as a favour. He said while the residents of Srinagar are still battling close to one lakh dogs having suffered bites and a few deaths in canine attacks the govt has been busy working on funny solutions with components like the kind of breakfast that should be served to the dogs that undergo birth control procedures. This, he said is happening in a city where five hundred infant deaths were reported from the main children hospital in a matter of few months under this government.
Akhtar said his party would not even lay claim on projects like Sangarmal or the number of sewage treatment plants that were constructed during the PDP-Congress regime and have now found place in the list of achievements of this govt. He said the PDP believes that Srinagar and its residents deserve much better facilities at par with the most modern cities around the world and construction of a shopping facility or sewage treatment plants even if they were constructed in its tenure would not qualify as outstanding achievements.
Akhtar said it was essentially for the people of Srinagar to realize as to what level the NC after ruling this state for nearly four decades has brought development discourse to. Even in 21st century it is talking of the introduction of traffic lights as an earth shaking intervention though half of them refused to work from the day of their installation. He said the claim mocks at the state of traffic in the city were travels have now to be planned carefully in view of traffic congestion on all streets and the two perennial bottle necks at Pantha Chowk and Shalteng. He said the widening of Shalteng Narbal road has entered eighth year and it is still nowhere near completion. The commuters, he said have to spend hours in traffic jams which have become an embrassment for the state across the country as the tourists have to cross these points frequently on way to or from places like Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Jammu. He said the development priorities under this government were dictated either by personal interests of some politicians or the influence of their brokers, agents, fixers and contractors as was evident from the construction of skewed bridge over jehlum even in the face of stiff opposition from civil society and experts. Skewed bridge would spell the end of the world famous Bund Akhtar added.
Referring to the claim made in poster about illumination of Budshah chowk, Akhtar said nothing could be more cruel for the people of the state than projecting this as an achievement when the NC has taken the very light out of the lives of people here through sell outs and thrown the state into complete darkness. It has sold out all energy resources for ensuring political power for Abdullah family and is now hoodwinking the citizens of Srinagar and playing politics over installation of street lights.
Akhtar said though claiming credit for nearly two decade old fountains in the Dal Lake was another source of entertainment; the government has remained silent over the so called fountains in the city which have remained dry for three years and never seen water. He said crores were spent on these fountains only to extend benefits to some agents and relations of politicians when half of the city roads remained dug up and looked like bombed territories. Instead of taking the development of Srinagar to its next level the NC led government is once again trying to keep people entangled in issues of lanes, drains and lamp posts which they have not been able to sort out for four decades power Akhtar said.
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