Adil Salam
As the clock is ticking towards the hour when Prime Minister Narender Modi will be visiting Kashmir Valley for the first after the abrogation of Article 370, the excitement and expectations of the people are touching skies.
Mr. Modi is marking his visit to Kashmir Valley on 07th of March 2024, wherein he will be addressing a mammoth gathering of some 2 Lakh people.
The last time Mr. Modi visited Kashmir was on February 3, 2019, ahead of the then Lok Sabha polls. Ever since these five years Kashmir witnessed massive changes on political as well as developmental fronts.
Apart from abrogation of Article 370 during these five years, Kashmir’s beautification has reached to next level, with Kashmir’s central point Clock Tower near Lal Chowk Srinagar becoming a global selfie point.
Breaking the status quo, the Modi Government has the credit to hold the first of its kind International Event in Kashmir in the form of G20 Conference. (Visuals of G20 Conference). The delegates and diplomates of numerous countries were seen walking freely, shopping on the streets of Srinagar, and taking a ride in Dal Lake. This event has placed the UT of J&K on the Global stage and served as a significant milestone in the progress and development of tourism at UT of J&K.
One of the best things that happened in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 was the restoration of administrative control. According to official records, encouraged and assured by the safe environment in J&K, investment projects worth nearly Rs 25 thousand crore are under execution in the UT while proposals to the tune of over Rs 80 thousand crore are under process. (Visuals of LG inauguration and meeting with Dubai people).
With an increasing footfall of domestic and foreign visitors, tourism in J&K is scaling new heights, making the Union Territory one of the top destinations in the country. Last year the UT received 2 crore tourists, a high enough number for any region, but the administration expects that the arrivals will breach the two crore mark this year. The Air Traffic to and from J&K has been doubled post-2019. Night landing facilities have been provided in Jammu and Srinagar.
In Educational Sector some 07 New Government Medical Colleges have been operationalized in J&K in recent years.
28 B.Sc. Nursing Colleges and 19 B.Sc. Paramedic Colleges have been added.
800 more MBBS Seats have been added totalling 1300. Presently 664 PG Medical Seats are available out of which 297 PG Seats were added after 2019. 1870 B.Sc. Nursing Seats and 125 M.Sc. Nursing Seats added in Nursing Colleges.
The other notable mentions during the recent years in Modi’s regime like, Kashmiri saffron got GI Tagging, “AB-PMJAY-SEHAT SCHEME” a universal health insurance scheme provides free of cost insurance cover to all the residents of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir upto Rs 5.00 lakh per family on floater basis, 100% saturation of various schemes being implemented in UT of J&K.
Smart Pre-paid metering is under implementation in three phases in J&K. 4.21 lakh smart meters have already been installed.
Indeed, there is a long list of developments that happened in Kashmir during the recent years under Modi government, it will be quite interesting to assess PM Modi’s plan during his 07 March Kashmir visit.
