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kashmir Perspectives
AAK KACHO Chief Executive Councillor LAHDC-Kargil
F
or us here in Kargil, we don't see any negative points in this coalition Government, only positive points. We are very happy with the coalition Government and with the ruling of Omar Abdullah. They are very positive with regard to Ladakh in general and with regard to Kargil in particular. There is harmony, the relations are going well and we are tackling our own problems with the support of the State Government and the Centre. We are not creating tensions and what happens in the Valley is not our first priority. The separatist leaders in general and APHC in particular don't have any power base or support in Kargil although they pretend to be the sole representative of all Kashmiris: we have nothing to do with them. There are no communal tensions at all here in Kargil. There are no Buddhists in the city, as a result, there is no need to have a Buddhist temple here: this was already ruled by the court many years back. We have some three Sikh families here, they have their gurdwara and we don't have any problem with that. There should be some negotiations so that the dispute between the 'movement' and the authorities is settled permanently. It can be between the Centre and the separatist leaders, or between the State Government and APHC, or between India and Pakistan, or a combination of these possibilities as long as it leads towards a lasting, peaceful solution. Due to the situation in the Valley, we do also suffer: there are problems with the supply of essential goods, the number of tourists went down drastically. We don't want to be punished for what happens in the Valley. We are Kargili: we want peace, development and progress for our district (total district population 120.000, Kargil city population 15.000). Some of the demands are: extension of the airfield from 3.000 feet to 6.000 feet so that larger civil airplanes can reach here. Another demand is a tunnel under the Zojila so that there is road connectivity whit the Valley and the rest of India throughout the year. We also ask the opening of the Kargil-Skardu road across the LoC. The two other regions of J&K State have road connectivity across the LoC, so there should be no problems to open this road. We don't see where the problems could be. The Hill Council is operating in a positive manner. There is no animosity between the majority and the opposition. Every member of the Council is working for the betterment of the people. Kargil is also included in projects and schemes of the Economic Reconstructing Agency (ERA). They supply funds for building a new township as we have space and expansion problems. A lot of developmental and infrastructure schemes are in progress.
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Vol. 4, Issue 10
Epilogue, October 2010