PM Modi’s promise to Kashmir youth: you won’t suffer like your parents, grandparents did

“Mein aap ko yeh kar ke dikhaunga. Main aap ko yah vishwas dilaney aya hoon (I will prove it to you and I have come here to give you this assurance),” Modi said addressing the 30 lakh elected rural local body members across the country on the occasion of Panchayat Divas celebrations from the Samba district’s Palli village.

Supporters attend a rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Panchayati Raj Day, at Palli in Samba district, Sunday, April 24, 2022. (PTI Photo)

In his first visit to the Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, he showcased a transforming Jammu and Kashmir with a fast pace of development as he launched and laid the foundation stones for several development projects worth around Rs 20,000 crore. These included the inauguration of the Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel, which will reduce the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by two hours, a 500 KV solar power plant at Palli, the laying of the foundation stone of the Rattle and Kwar hydel projects on River Chenab, and the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway among others.

Modi said that there was a time when a file used to take two-three weeks to reach Jammu and Kashmir. “Today, I feel happy to see that a 500 KV solar power project at Palli panchayat has been completed in just three weeks,” he said, adding that all the houses in the village will also get green power.

With the completion of the Rattle and Kwar hydel power projects in the next two years, the power in Jammu and Kashmir will not be only sufficient, but will become a source of income generation as well, he added.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally on Panchayati Raj Day, at Palli in Samba district, Sunday, April 24, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Referring to the changes following the abrogation of Article 370, he said it has empowered the people of Jammu and Kashmir and there are more than 30,000 panchayati representatives who are running governance-related affairs. “For the first time, peaceful three-tier Panchayat elections were held,” he said, adding today people are realising their dreams.

The prime minister also called for reducing the distances between people. “When I talk of one India and best India that also means focusing on connectivity, and eliminating distances. Distances whether of hearts, languages, customs or of resources, their elimination is our very big priority today,” he added.