SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi while dedicating to the nation the 44MW Chutak hydropower station at Kargil, said four lakh Kashmiri Pandits were among the 20 percent of the state’s population that has been displaced.
He reiterated the resolve to bring home all those displaced due to the conflict or other reasons.
Addressing a public rally at Kargil, the Prime Minister recalled his visit to the town during the 1999 Kargil war. He said gunfire was heard in those days, where now we hear the sound of people clapping. He said the people of Kargil had supported the Indian Armed Forces during the war. He said he still recalled the excitement and patriotic fervour in the town when Tiger Hill was won. Today the people here wish to join the development mainstream.
He said the Government of India would provide Rs. 8000 crore additional funding for road projects in the state. He said the Leh-Kargil-Srinagar transmission line would boost education and employment opportunities in Kargil. He said he wished to make Kargil one of the fastest growing districts in the country.
The Prime Minister said development is the sole solution to all problems. He said development is his Government’s priority, and maximum stress is being given to employment of youth. In this context, he spoke of Pashmina, saffron cultivation and value addition in apple cultivation. He said that there was no dearth of funds for development, and he had taken up cudgels against corruption. “I have asked my officers to think of a sub-board within our spice board to promote the cultivation, preservation and marketing of Kashmiri saffron.”
The Prime Minister Modi also announced the tax waiver wroth Rs. 60 Crore in the state government’s favor. “There was a longtime tax issue between Food Corporation of India and the J&K government. The state would plead that it won’t pay the tax. Now I announce that the money is waived.”
The Governor of Jammu and Kashmir N.N. Vohra, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Shri Omar Abdullah, Piyush Goyal, were present on the occasion.
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