OBSERVER BUREAU
JAMMU, APRIL 02
A joint statement by Sh. Ashok Sharma( Ex. MLA , coordinator AICC Vichar Vibhag), Sh. Mohinder Kumar Bhardwaj ( Senior Advocate, Member PCCI), Ashok Dubey (Organising Secretary) and Sh. Ashwani Puri ( Organising Secretary PCCI).
Inauguration of the 9.28 kilometre long Chenani-Nashri tunnel by Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi is a momentous occasion in the contemporary history of Jammu and Kashmir and is a clear sign of the continuous endeavour of our visionary policy-planners over the years to bring hearts and minds of people of Jammu and Kashmir together. One strong manifestation of it is through removing geographical barriers to which this tunnel bears ample testimony.
The state-of-the-art tunnel which is both an engineering and scientific marvel is a giant leap forward in making Jammu-Srinagar road travel possible in barely six hours and also making the highway an all-weather road which in the past had been subjected to vagaries of weather causing serious strain on public mind as well the defence mechanism of the country J&K being a sensitive border state. The entire project of four-lanning of the highway was conceived with a view to remove all these obstacles of which Chenani-Nashri tunnel is a significant part. The work on this tunnel had started on May 23, 2011 but thinking and planning had started earlier than that. The project speaks volumes of the vision of the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress president Mrs Sonia Gandhi and also the then chief minister of the state Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, to usher the state of Jammu and Kashmir into a new era of development. This highway is a lifeline for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and disruptions in the past had catastrophic effect on them. Ostensibly these visionary leaders were aware and committed themselves to spare the future generations of these catastrophes. The fact that the tunnel has been formally commissioned now, it is imperative that we all including the governments of the day, both at the Centre and the state levels, should recognize the services of the previous Congress-led dispensations and our leaders in particular. The Governments in a democratic set up work through a process of continuity in policy and plans with changes here and there but the core remains the same. The completion of this tunnel should be seen as an appreciation of that core as is the continuation of various other schemes of public welfare such as MNEREGA and AADHAR by the Modi Government. These schemes were so strongly rooted in the spirit of public and nation’s welfare that despite his initial reservations and disliking, mostly due to political reasons, Mr Modi had no option but to continue with the same.
Inauguration of this tunnel is a public testimony to the fact that Congress and its led governments whether in New Delhi or in various states steadfastly stand for progress and prosperity of our great nation and in particular public welfare. We congratulate Dr Singh, Mrs Gandhi, Congress vice president Mr Rahul Gandhi and Sh. Ghulam Nabi Azad for making this happen in our life time.
