Srinagar, 20 February: (KNS) The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Saturday decried inaction on the up gradation, maintenance and improvement of basic civic amenities being provided to urban populace of Srinagar saying the ‘smart city’ to be is suffering from government indifference .
The city infra-projects has seen no momentum over the past years as the incumbent administration has failed to keep up with the momentum of work initiated by the NC led government, said Party general Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar while expressing dismay over the lack of momentum of various projects in Srinagar. He made these remarks while addressing a delegation of prominent businessmen and traders from Srinagar here at Party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha, Srinagar.
Interacting with the visiting delegation who had called on him, the Party general secretary expressed concern over the issues which were being brought to his notice by them. The visiting delegation apprised the party general secretary how the divisional administration of Kashmir has outstripped a set of deadlines aiming to conserve and beautify the surrounding areas of Dal lake and Brari Nambal. The visiting delegation said the anchor piece of regional tourism; the Dal Lake was facing challenges on different accounts due to government apathy. They said the set deadlines for the projects for conserving Dal Lake have been put into a cold storage since 2015.
The visiting delegation brought the poor state of affairs ailing the health sector to the notice of the party general secretary saying that the condition of all associated hospitals of GMC is pathetic. They said the issues need immediate intervention. They said that the government indifference towards GMC hospitals was taking a toll on health care being provided at these institutes. They said the situation in PHC/CHC, District TB centers, urban health centers, evening clinics, mobile medical aid centers, and other sub-centers was not satisfactory. They said the health institutions under directorate of health services in Srinagar have seen no up gradation and improvement in their physical infrastructure since 2015.
The visiting delegation also rued the failure of government and concerned agencies on carrying out a comprehensive fire audit of all major shrines in Srinagar. They said the process has long back been shelved by the Wakf authorities. The delegation members also said that the major shrines in Srinagar were undergoing space crunch and that concerned authorities have failed to rise up to the requirements of ever increasing rush of devotees. They said there is no headway in completing the renovation and restoration works at the Shrines of Khanqah e Moala, Dastagir Sahib, and Naqshband Sahib due to which the devotees they said have to undergo immense trepidation.
Apprising the party general secretary on the condition of roads, the delegation said the roads were in shambles. They said the roads in City center present a pathetic look, while those in Shahar-e-e-Khas were craving for official attention. They said the path work in the name of macadamization which was undertaken by administration has stripped off across Srinagar. They said the roads and alleys in old city of Srinagar have been repaired ages ago and that what little patch work was done has not withstood winter snow.
Meanwhile party central secretary and former MLA Irfan Shah carried a detailed tour of Batamaloo constituency and made stopovers at various places where he interacted with the locals who apprised him about various issues concerning them in particular the poor condition of roads, shortage of water and scant presence of public transport. He also paid obeisance at the shrine of Hazrat Baba Rehmatullah Sahib (RA) at Barthana. (KNS)