Srinagar, June 28: President A P J Abdul Kalam has called for generating commercial activities along the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir coupled with strengthened infrastructure in order to transform the overall economy of the these areas. Making a strong plea for taking technology advancement to the rural areas of the state, Kalam, interacting with the state government authorities on economic development of Jammu and Kashmir at a high level meeting last night, said he found cities of Jammu and Srinagar highly congested.
The inflow from the rural areas to urban areas needed to be reversed by creating urban type facilities in rural areas, he said adding the focus of industries should also shift from urban to rural areas.
He said government should encourage establishment of herbal garden in the border belt, and that medicinal plants with value addition and a readymade market for them could transform the economic condition of the people inhabiting the border areas. The other area, which he suggested for promotion in the border belt, was small and cottage industries with their tremendous potential.
Kalam listed several measures to boost economic development in the state and asked Jammu and Kashmir government to unleash knowledge in different parts of the state.
Governor S K Sinha, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma and senior state officials attended the meeting. Kalam said border areas needed e-governance more than any others areas and called for utilisation of new information technology to improve governance of the hilly state.
Principal secretary, planning and development, Vajay Bakayee apprised the President about the infrastructure already created under the border area development programme, which was implemented in 44 border blocks in nine districts of Jammu and Kashmir covering 37 lakh population.
He said the programme had received a major thrust from Central government as well.
Bureau Report