With the situation in the Valley showing no signs of improvement, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had deputed six senior ministers to establish contact with civil society in North and South Kashmir. The ministers were asked to remain stationed at the district headquarters to attend to the grievances of the people.
But after staying for two days at the district headquarters, all the six ministers are back in Srinagar leaving the onus to block presidents and junior party workers.
After the fresh bout of violence began in the Valley on Friday, public health engineering minister Taj Mohiuddin, agriculture minister Ghulam Hassan Mir and minister of state (MoS) for health Javid Ahmad Dar were deputed to North Kashmir. The ministers had been asked to remain stationed in Baramulla district for establishing contact with the people. Similarly, Education minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayed, social welfare minister Sakina Yatoo and animal husbandry minister Aga Rohullah were deputed to South Kashmir with clear-cut orders to remain based in Anantnag district.
To facilitate the liaison of these ministers with the people, facilities were created at the premises of the two state guest houses in Baramulla and Anantnag. However, the ministers without establishing any contact with civil society or senior citizens of the respective districts, left for Srinagar. Before leaving for Srinagar at Baramulla, the NC district secretary and block president was asked by these ministers to establish contact with the people.
Apart from chairing a few official meetings, all the ministers remained confined to the state guest house at both places. In Baramulla, neither civil society members nor senior citizens turned up to meet these ministers. At Anantnag, a few workers of the NC and Congress came to meet these ministers.
Senior Congress leader and education minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayed who was deputed to South Kashmir said, ?We went to different places and established contact with the people?. He said the presence of ministers had a good impact on the ground. The two teams of ministers were constituted by J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah soon after the Prime Minister and home minister advised the J&K chief minister to establish contact with the common people across the Valley.
?It?s very unfortunate, the ministers were directed to remain stationed at district headquarters, but they returned to Srinagar without making any concrete efforts to establish contact with the common people,? an officer posted at the state guest house in Baramulla said.