Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to hold Block Development Council (BDC) elections across the state soon.This was stated during an evening presser here addressed by Principal Secretary Planning and Development, Rohit Kansal, who is also Government’s spokesperson.Mr Kansal said the elections would be held for 316 BDCs across the State for which necessary exercise has been completed in Kashmir while in Jammu it is in last stage.He said the Rural Development Department is approaching the Chief Electoral Officer’s office for holding early elections for which the whole exercise would be hopefully completed by the end of September.On the situation in Kashmir, it was informed that day time restrictions have been lifted from 69 police stations while as in Jammu the day time restrictions have been eased out from 81 police stations.He also said that on law and order front, the security forces are maintaining close watch on the situation and there has been a steady decline in the disturbance incidents.
Regarding the landline phones restoration, the spokesperson said that the landlines are being restored in the areas where restrictions have been lifted, adding the restoration would take little more time due to the manual interventions. He alsoinformed that eight new exchanges comprising 5300 connections would be restored over the weekend.On the preparation of harvest season of fruits in Kashmir, Mr Kansal said that the early harvest of fruits like apple, peach etc is being transported outside the state in hassle free manner.As against the 89,000 MTs last year, around 1.20 lakh MTs have been transported out till now during the corresponding period and both the divisional and district administrations have been directed to coordinate with the producers for harvesting and smooth transportation of the same. He also said that 1,500 primary schools and 1,000 middle schools are operational in the state and the attendance is picking up gradually. Education department is making efforts to operationalize the schools in the areas where there are no restrictions in place, he added.Secretary Rural Development Department, Sheetal Nanda, Director Information and Public Relations, Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar and Director Horticulture, Kashmir, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat were also present on the occasion.