Jammu Tawi: Sunil Dimple, president of Mission Statehood, led a delegation that met with Javed Rana, the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet Minister for PHE (Public Health Engineering), Irrigation, and Forests, to discuss several pressing issues affecting the region, including water scarcity and the regularization of workers.
One of the key demands raised by Dimple was the scrapping of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, citing significant losses to Jammu and Kashmir’s water resources, power projects, and an acute shortage of drinking and irrigation water. Dimple emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir has been facing major setbacks due to the treaty, which restricts the region’s access to its own water resources.
In response, Minister Javed Rana assured that the matter has already been raised by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India, who are actively considering revisiting the treaty.
Dimple also discussed the critical issue of drinking water supply, particularly in Jammu city and the surrounding region, where residents face severe water shortages. He demanded the immediate start of construction on the Chenab Water Supply Scheme to ensure clean drinking water is provided to the people twice a day. Another major point of discussion was the regularization of daily wagers, contractual workers, and need-based employees across various departments, including the PHE. Dimple urged Minister Rana to address these workers’ concerns and ensure their job security. He also called for age relaxation policies in upcoming recruitment processes to benefit younger applicants and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Minister Javed Rana responded positively, assuring that all the demands would be taken up at the highest levels of government. He acknowledged the urgency of the issues raised and promised that efforts would be made to address them promptly.
