Governor N N Vohra today paid rich tributes to the former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed saying that he was one of the exceptional farsighted leaders in the country who was focused on securing the future of his people in the best possible way.The Governor was speaking at a function organised at SKICC here to release J&K Cultural Academy’s special English and Urdu editions of ‘Sheeraza’ journal highlighting the life, vision and contribution of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.The function was attended by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Minister for Finance Dr Haseeb Drabu, Minister for Education Naeem Akhtar, Minister for Information Technology, Technical Education and Youth Services & Sports Imran Raza Ansari, Minister for Social Welfare, ARI & Training and Science & Technology Sajjad Gani Lone, Member Parliament (MP) Muzaffar Hussain Baig and others.Terming Sayeed as a highly secular and visionary politician, the Governor said that despite having a dissenting point of view on any issue, he was always on the same page when it came to the stability, development and welfare of Jammu and Kashmir and its people. He said Mufti Mohammad Sayeed CM deserved admiration for his conviction when it came to accomplishing developmental projects in the state on time. He said that Sayeed was always working and finding ways to innovate and bring something new in the developmental arena in tune with the latest world trends.
The Governor said that Sayeed’s policies and vision was focused on ways to develop the state on every front within the shortest possible time. Recounting number of his pro-people policies, the Governor said that sectors like Education, Tourism and Horticulture were close to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s heart.The Governor said it was the vision of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to turn the state’s Horticulture sector into a game-changer with special focus on introduction of High Density Fruit Plantation in the state. “He (Mufti Sayeed) used to say that high density fruit plants will change the fortunes of the state and its people in a big way and increase the horticulture income from present Rs 7000-8000 crore to Rs 25000-30000 crores,” the Governor said adding that Mufti Sayeed’s belief was that innovation in horticulture sector will bring prosperity to the nook and corner of the state.The Governor said that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed used to say that the second biggest change will come once Srinagar-Jammu rail link will be completed. He said that farmers won’t be under pressure to sell their produce at cheap rate and instead send it through railways from Baramulla to markets like Kolkata, Delhi etc within the shortest possible time at highest rate. He said that together with establishment of cold storage facilities, the horticulture sector will usher the state into a new era of development as envisioned by the late Sayeed.
The Governor said that finishing all these and other developmental projects in shortest possible time will be best tribute to late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.Minister for Finance & Culture, Dr Haseeb A Drabu; Minister for Social Welfare, Sajad Ghani Lone; Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar; Member Parliament and former Deputy Chief Minister, Muzaffar Hussain Baig and Vice Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir, Prof Mehraj ud Din also addressed the function and shared their experiences with the late leader.Jnanpith Award winning Kashmiri writer, Prof Rehman Rahi; Legislators, Vice Chancellors of various universities; family members of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed; writers, academicians, and litterateurs were present on the occasion.Earlier, Secretary of the Academy, Dr Aziz Hajni gave a brief resume of the contents of the special numbers and thanked all those who helped his team in compiling the same.The Governor also inaugurated a Photo Exhibition organised by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages depicting the life and times of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.