5 letters in 7 days: Mehbooba asks Centre to link Srinagar Airport for flights to ASEAN countries

TNN Bureau. Updated: 11/18/2017 1:38:29 AM Front Page



JAMMU: After she wrote three letters last Friday drawing New Delhi's attention towards various issues she was apprised of during her Public Outreach programme, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti wrote two more to Centre again this Friday, urging it to include the Srinagar International Airport among the airports in India from where flights to the ASEAN countries are to be operated, besides asking the union government to continue assistance to the state's poultry industry, thus underlining the concern exhibited for issues faced by different strata of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehbooba's first letter on Friday was addressed to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, wherein she asserted that the beginning of flights between the countries of the 10-member Asean grouping and Srinagar would give the desired push to the state's tourism industry.
"The operation of flights from and to cities like Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore and other cities in the region would have a positive impact on the tourism industry and bolster the state's economy," she said in the letter.
Several representatives of the state tourism industry have met Mufti over the months and requested her to ensure the state is linked to Asean countries to boost tourism.
In 2003, India had signed an open skies agreement with the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam make up the Asean regional grouping.
In yet another communication to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Mufti sought the continuation of central assistance to the state's poultry industry, extension of loan recovery period.
She also sought the waiving of interest in respect of unit holders to sustain their business which suffered heavily during the 2014 floods, besides the high cost of feed imported from neighbouring states.
Representatives of the Poultry Dealers Association had recently met Mufti and urged her to take up the issues with the central government.
It may be recalled here that on November 10, Mehbooba while taking cognizance of various issues she was apprised of during her recent visits in connection with her Public Outreach programme to different regions of the state, had written three letters.
Mehbooba had pleaded with Centre for establishment of an examination centre for the NEET (PG) examination at Srinagar in a communication to union Health & Family Welfare Minister, J P Nadda; she had also asked the Union Communications Minister, Manoj Sinha to take measures for bringing Tulail
village of the Gurez Valley into the cellular coverage area, while her third letter was addressed to Union Information & Broadcasting Minister, Smriti Zubin Irani, in which Mehbooba had sought her intervention into the problems being faced by local producers and content providers of DD Kashir due to stoppage to commissioning of programmes and putting stringent conditions in the fresh notification which detriments their prospective.


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