The 69th Independence Day was celebrated with traditional fervour and gaiety in district Kupwara today. The main function was organised at District Police Lines, Kupwara where Minister for CA&PD and Tribal Affairs, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali unfurled the National flag and took salute at the parade by JKP, JKAP, CRPF, Civil Defence, Forest Protection Force, Fire and Emergency Services, Police besides contingents of school children from different educational institutions who also presented colourful cultural programmes to mark the occasion.
Addressing the well-attended gathering, Choudhary Zulfkar, who is also the chairman of District Development Board Kupwara, said maintaining communal harmony and regional cooperation is the bedrock of the present coalition adding that progress and prosperity of any nation depends upon these two fundamentals.Referring to the results of the 2014 assembly elections in the State, the Minister said people have pinned high hopes on the PDP-BJP coalition government and it is the responsibility of this government to come up to the expectations of the people. He said the state Government has already initiated the process of delivering on its promise of providing of accountable and pro-people government to the people.
“Government’s endeavour and prime focus is to leave inedible mark in terms of development on the democratic profile of the state with firm determination of ensuring accountable and responsible governance”, the Minister asserted.Exhorting upon the people to come forward and extend their support to pull the state out of the financial mess left behind by the previous government, he said the present coalition government, under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is striving hard to make the State economically self-reliant. He urged the people in general and the youth in particular to come forward and shoulder the responsibility of building a politically stable and economically prosperous Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister said that the reconstruction of the flood-affected infrastructure and revival of the livelihood of the affected population is a challenge for the Government and the Chief Minister is personally pursuing with the concerned quarters the issue of arranging adequate financial resources for the purpose. He said as promised by the Chief Minister, the Government would ensure revival of the post-flood economy in the State.The Minister said unemployment is the another biggest challenge confronting the present government and to take this challenge head-on the government has formulated a new job policy to fast-track recruitments under which around 10,000 posts are being filled up in next four months.
Zulfkar said being the worst affected district on the militancy front, the residents of Kupwara and the adjoining areas had to face the maximum brunt on the security front. “It was only after 2002, when Mufti Sahab became the Chief Minister that the people, not only in Kupwara but in the every nook and corner of the State heaved a sigh of relief,” he said.The Minister said that creation of a separate ministry for Tribal Affairs is a landmark initiative of the present government aimed at giving focussed attention to the welfare of the tribal communities.Regarding the distribution of rations, the Minister said that as promised by the Government, the distribution of rations would be done as per 2011 census from the next month.
The Member Parliament for Rajya Sabha, Mr. Fayaz Ahmed Mir, MLA Kupwara, Mr. Bashir Ahmad Dar, MLCs Mr. Qaiser Jamshed Lone, Mr. Javed Ahmad Mirchal, ex-legislator, Mr. A. R. Badana, representatives of all political parties, PRIs, District Development Commissioner, Kupwara, Mr. Kumar Rajiv Ranjan, senior officers of the district administration, police and army besides public representatives and large number of people were present on the occasion.