Srinagar, June 06: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a passionate appeal to Srinagarites not to allow “enemies of peace” to exploit their sentiments and hence be a party to the destruction of the society.
The Chief Minister said Islam was not a weak religion and it had emerged stronger every time when destructive forces attempted to hurt it.
“The situation is slowly heading towards normalcy. People of Srinagar will have to help us to make it better. They have to be patient.
They are emotional and their emotions are being cashed by the people who want to keep their politics alive on the card of destruction,” Omar said addressing a function at the inauguration of Sangarmal shopping complex here.
The Chief Minister was referring to the protests which broke out in the city following rumors about alleged depiction of holy places on some undergarments.
“Our religion is strong. It does not preach us to take decisions in hurry and under the control of emotions alone,” he said.
“There are enemies of peace among us and they often play with our religious sentiments. But people will have to prove that they are not weak and will not allow vested interests to cash their sentiments. I urge people that they should give a serious thought before taking any step. I urge them that they should not vandalize their city with their own hands.”
Omar said last year people here came on roads against government following death of a Maisuma boy. “But later it was proven that he was killed by his own friend in a love triangle case.”
Cautioning people that today’s false rumors could have resulted into damage for the society, Omar urged people that they should not take steps which could strengthen the hands of“enemies who don’t want development should happen but are always looking for inciting violence.”
People, the CM said, should give government a chance to solve their problems. He said government was aware that most of the families face accommodation problems in Srinagar and four to five families live in a joint family. “There is housing crisis. We have to solve this problem. The government has to solve the traffic and drainage problem in the city. We are committed to develop Srinagar into a model city. People should support peace and not give chance to those who want to keep their politics alive on destruction,” he said.
Omar termed Sangarmal complex as a step towards development in Srinagar.
The CM also expressed concern over the unplanned growth in the city. “There are many shopping malls in the city. I want to bulldoze them all and construct beautiful complexes like Sangarmal. But I don’t’ want to be a cause of losses to people,” he said.
Omar assured that government would probe into the complaints it receives from people about the fake encounters to clear any doubt from their mind.
After Machil expose, Omar said many people had raised doubts about many encounters. “They registered their complaints with the police and it was proven after the investigation that all the complaints were false,” he said.
However, the CM said if people have any complaints about any encounter they should register them with the police. “The complaints will be investigated to clear any doubt.”
Omar suggested to people that they should at least have a look of the Sangarmal before constructing shopping complexes in future.
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand said government was working to bring peace to Kashmir so that the “paradise on earth” gets back its lost glory. He said Sangarmal was the first of its shopping complex in Kashmir and the city.
Giving a brief about the facilities available in the shopping complex, Chand, who is also minister for Housing and Urban Development, said government would soon start working on the second phase of the complex on the reserved 40 kanals of land.
He said government would encourage building multi-storey shopping complexes in Srinagar so that agriculture land could be saved from being commercialized. The government was also planning to set up multi-storey complex near Nowgam railway station on the pattern of the one at Jammu railway station.
Minister of State for HUD, Nasir Sogami, and Srinagar Development Authority Vice-Chairman, Kifayat Rizvi, also spoke on the occasion.
-Agencies