Srinagar, Jan 25: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said the snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir has come as a blessing for the people as it has started attracting tourists and will restore the water table also.
Timely snowfall in the valley will also benefit the people as scant precipitation could have led to a drought-like situation, he said.
“This time we had snow in Chillai-Kalan which is a good thing. People (tourists) have started coming here now as they were waiting for snowfall,” Abdullah told reporters at Gulmarg, the skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
“If we had not had this snow, we would have faced water scarcity in summer,” he said.
Many parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar, received fresh snowfall on Sunday. The snowfall has disrupted traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Abdullah said he arrived here on Saturday to review the situation in the aftermath of the snowfall.
He expressed satisfaction over the restoration works carried out by various departments.
“The electricity (distribution) system was affected. Against a peak demand of 1700 MW, we have been able to restore 1500 MW. It will take some time to restore electricity in the far flung areas which were severely affected by the snowfall,” he said.
The chief minister said he is in Gulmarg to sort out the issues faced in operationalising the ski drag lift.
“I was expecting that the drag lift will be operational by now but there are some issues. I have directed the officials to make the lift operational before I go back,” he added.
Asked about BJP leader Tarun Chugh blaming the National Conference for Jammu statehood demand, Abdullah said his party is even against separation of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir.
“They (BJP) have destroyed Ladakh. We have been against separation of Ladakh and we are against separation of Jammu. I can name several leaders (of BJP) and their coterie in Kashmir who raised this issue,” he said.
Abdullah said “it is good” if demand for a separate Jammu state is not the stand of the BJP.
Asked about the result of civil judge preliminary examinations, the chief minister said the politics around religion and region should stop.
“If there is any wrongdoing in the examination, show me the proof and I will get it investigated. Just because one region has done better than the other on the basis of merit should not become an issue. It was this mentality that led to closure of the (SMVDIME) medical college. This should stop,” he added. (Agencies)
