Work on Zojila tunnel soon, progress of Leh, Kargil our priority: Mehbooba

Urges for inter-religion interactions to minimize misgivings and mistrust

KARGIL: Laying emphasis upon the government's keenness on the development and progress of both the districts of Kargil and Leh, Chief Minister,Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that work on the construction of Zojila tunnel, connecting Ladakh region with Kashmir Valley, will start soon after conclusion of the necessary formalities.
Addressing a function here after distributing scooties among the deserving girl students of Kargil district, the Chief Minister said ever since her taking over, the Government has flagged development and progress of Ladakh region as priority.
She said she is herself supervising the development activities in the region and even comes to this place often to monitor the development activities.
Mehbooba Mufti said she is keen to have more interactions between the people of different regions of the State to minimize misgivings and mistrust.
In this regard she sought support from the student community by joining more and more interactive sessions in which they come to learn from each other's regions in a better way.
Responding to the demands of the students, the Chief Minister said she has already directed providing buses to the students of local college and increasing the accommodation for students there. She also said that sports facilities for the students of the district would further be strengthened.
Earlier, Chairman, Legislative Council, Haji Anayat Ali also addressed the gathering and thanked the Chief Minister for taking keen interest in the development of Kargil district. He sought early start of work on the Zojila tunnel.
Minister for Public Works, Naeem Akhtar; MLA, Kargil, Asgar Karbalai; CEC, LAHDC, Kargil, Kachoo Ahmad Ali; executive councilors, LAHDC, Kargil; Deputy Commissioner, Gulzar Hussain and other officers of district administration were present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, several deputations met the Chief Minister during her two-days visit to the area.
A deputation of councilors of LAHDC, Leh demanded that their positions be made remunerative and salary be drawn in their favour.
A deputation of Tibetan refugees also met the Chief Minister and sought redressal of their grievances. Another deputation of students from a local college sought posting of Principal on full term basis and regularization of their academic schedule with rest of the students of Kashmir University.
Another deputation of representatives of various villages from Turtuk area sought supply of electricity during peak morning hours in their areas.
A deputation of civil society representatives thanked the Chief Minister for starting the process of filling up of vacant positions in the district. They also demanded filling the posts of SDM and Tehsildar, Khaltsi and other critical positions in the district on priority.
The Chief Minister listened to the demands put forth and assured to take appropriate action at the earliest.