Ghulam Hassan Mir expresses concern over growing unemployment in J&K

Jammu, November 21, 2021: Apni Party Senior Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir has expressed serious concern over growing unemployment in J&K.

Hassan Mir was speaking at a one day convention which was organized by Youth Wing, State General Secretary Abhay Bakaya and Youth Wing, Provincial President Jammu, Vipul Bali with the Jammu Youth Wing members at Rehari.

“It is unfortunate that the Govt is claiming that J&K is being taken ahead with development. In reality, however, we have the highest unemployment rate in J&K in comparison to the rest of the country. The emerging situation requires urgent attention of the Govt to mitigate the suffering of the unemployed youth by creating employment opportunities for them,” Mir said. He was the chief guest on the occasion.

Mir said that “India is known for democracy across the world but people in J&K people have been deprived of a democratic Govt. as J&K is being ruled by Lt Governor.”

“To address the emerging circumstances, J&K must have an elected Govt which represents the aspiration of both the regions equally but not Jammu or Kashmir regions alone,” he said.

He further said that Apni Party believes that in the new environment, a Kashmir Centric or Jammu Centric Govt will not be able to deliver, but a Govt which represents the aspiration of entire J&K, is important for the mitigation of the issues being confronted by the erstwhile state.

“The Govt must restore Statehood before holding assembly elections in J&K,” he demanded and impressed upon the youth leaders to work for the betterment of the youth of J&K without bias and highlight their issues.

He assured that the Apni Party will leave no stone unturned to redress issues of the youth in J&K.

Meanwhile, Apni Party Vice President Ch. Zulfikar Ali said that youth are the biggest victim of the J & K conflict.

“Everyone is aware about the emergence of the Apni Party following the abrogation of Art 370. On the name of employment, only 4th class posts were reserved for the locals in J&K and rest all posts were open for all India recruitment. However, we took up a stand and got the order reversed in favour of the local youth of J&K,” he said.

He said that “The youth get higher education but still they remain unemployed. Therefore, we have focused our policy for the youth. We believe that this conflict has victimized the youth of J&K in the last thirty years. We do not have big industries and therefore, the youth are dependent upon the Govt jobs.”

He said that “There has been no recruitment for teachers in the last three years, no recruitment in the army or in the police force.”

“For last 3 years, there has been no elected Govt in J&K. No one is listening to the people. Bureaucracy has been strengthened by bringing officials from outside. They have become rulers, and this situation has given rise to the feeling of alienation among the people. Hence, there must be an elected Govt in J&K to restore confidence among the people,” he added.

He further said “We want political empowerment of the people of J&K. With political empowerment, development can also happen. You can’t develop J&K with construction of flyovers and metros. You have to win the hearts and minds of the people. You have to address the real aspiration of the youth.”

“When no politician was ready to speak for the people, the Apni Party came out and tried to bridge the gap between J&K and Delhi by highlighting issues of the people of J&K. Later other political parties also followed us even as they were opposing our initiatives initially,” he said.

Meanwhile, State General Secretary, Vijay Bakaya congratulated the office bearers of youth wing for organizing an impressive gathering of energetic and vociferous youth who appeared to be politically aware and mature.

“They belonged to a generation which may have barely voted once, and they were fortunate that when they voted next, there would be an alternative in the name of Apni Party which was a truthful party and which honestly believed in youth power,” Bakaya said.

He further said that they could safely vote for it as it would take all sections of society to great heights of development with its pragmatic policies.

Apni Party State General Secretary, Syed Asgar Ali, while speaking in the one day youth convention, said that “The power of youth has been recognized in the world particularly with regard to development and establishment peace. Without their involvement, nothing is possible because they constitute 65% of our population.”

“The youth have energy to bring change in the situation. However, our youth are facing a very grave challenge of unemployment. Hydro-electric powers have huge potential for employment in skilled and unskilled jobs in the Chenab Region. But the LG administration is not focusing on this issue for which a proper road map should be made,” he said.

Similarly, he said that they have potential for tourism in the Chenab Region like Sarthal Devi Yatra, Machel Yatra, Shrines, and other tourist destinations yet to be explored and developed.

“The Govt should involve youth in tourism so that job opportunities are created. Our youth are derailing mainly because of unemployment and indulging in crime, drug addiction and militancy. We should look into it carefully to channelize the youth energy towards the right direction otherwise it would be a disadvantage for all of us instead of being an advantage,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Provincial President, Jammu, Manjit Singh appreciated the organizer of the programme and said that with no scope for employment in J&K, it has touched the highest place in the nation in comparison to other states and UTs.

“The Govt must take the emerging situation seriously and focus on generation of employment opportunities. The unemployment is highest ever in J&K and it is a serious cause of concern for all of us,” he said.

He also demanded restoration of statehood before the holding of assembly elections and criticized the role of bureaucrats in alienating the people with their wrong policies and programmes.

Prominent among those who were present in the convention include Additional Spokesperson, Advocate Nirmal Kotwal, Ex-MLA Faqir Nath, Provincial Secretary Dr Rohit Gupta, SC State Coordinator Bodh Raj Bhagat, District President Jammu Urban, Pranav Shagotra, District President Jammu Rural –A, Pushpa Dev Uppal, Provincial Coordinator Ex-Servicemen Cell, Kulwant Singh, Provincial President Legal Cell Adv Vikram Rathore, Provincial President Trade Union, Raj Sharma, Provincial Coordinator OBC Jammu, Sohan Singh, District President Trade Union, Anirudh Vasist, District President Youth Wing Jammu, Shivam Choudhary, State General Secretary Youth Wing Muzaffar Rishi, State General Secretary Youth Wing Ch. Tufail, State Secretary Salman Butt, State Coordinator Youth Outreach & Capacity Building Program Tariq Mohiuddin, senior leader Apni Party, Khushboo Bhagat,  Vice president, Vaibhav Mattoo, District General Secretary, Shardeesh Rana, District General Secretary, Atul Sharma, District Secretary, Mohammad Asif, District Secretary, Deepak Bradu, District Secretary,  Salman Chowdhury, District Secretary,  Mohammad Ashraf, Provincial Vice President Trade Union, Abdul Lateif, Provincial Secretary Trade Union, Mohd Ashraf, Sunny Sambyal District President Samba, District Trade Union General Secretary Trade Union Dalbir Singh, District General Secretary Samba Farooq Chuhan, Archana Koul, Sandeep Vaid, Ankush Dogra, Aitnder Singh, Charanjeev Singh, Gaurav Chibber and others.