J&K waits for PM with hopes, excitement, separatists call for discourteous protest march

JAMMU: As the ordinary citizens of Jammu and Kashmir look with excitement and hopes at the forthcoming significant three-region visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the separatists have resorted to the same old trick of calling a protest march.

A majority of people across the three regions are of the strong opinion that discourteous response of the separatists to the Prime Minister’s visit hurts the image of Jammu and Kashmir.

The separatists today called for a protest march to Lal Chowk on Saturday against Prime Minister’s scheduled visit to the state. The separatists, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, appealed the people to march towards Lal Chowk on 19 May to register their peaceful protest against the Prime Minister's visit to the state, a spokesman of the amalgam said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Jammu and Kashmir for two days this week, during which he will also inaugurate a hydro-electricity project and participate in the 100th birth anniversary celebration of Ladakhi spiritual leader Kushak Bakula, state government officials have said.

Modi will address the sixth convocation ceremony of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Jammu this week, Vice Chancellor Pradeep Kumar Sharma said today. Governor N N Vohra, chancellor of the university, and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will also attend the hour-long programme on Saturday, Sharma told reporters.

"We used to hold convocations at the auditorium of the University of Jammu. This is for the first time, the function is being held at the SKUAST-Jammu campus," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister, Kavinder Gupta on Tuesday convened a meeting of officers to take stock of the preparations being put in place for the upcoming visit of Prime Minister.

During his visit the Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate Tarakote Marg from Katra to Adhkuwari , Material Ropeway from Siar Dabri to Bhawan and lay foundation stone of Pakal Dul HE Project (1000 MW) and Jammu Ring Road from General Zorawar Singh Auditorium University of Jammu.

Kavinder Gupta while chairing meeting with senior functionaries of various departments discussed in detail the overall preparation works being carried out in this regard. He asked the concerned departments to make sure that all necessary arrangements are being made well in time for the PM visit.

He was informed about the arrangements being put in place with regard to security, reception, traffic, healthcare, seating arrangements, sanitation, drinking water and other related arrangements.

Deputy Chief Minister stressed on maintaining close coordination among various departments including security to ensure successful visit of the Prime Minister.

The meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner Jammu Hemant Kumar Sharma, IGP Jammu S. D. Singh Jamwal, Additional Commissioner Rehana Batul, Deputy Commissioner Jammu Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, Commissioner JMC Ramesh Kumar, Joint Director Information Naresh Kumar and other senior functionaries of various departments.