It is worrisome that despite tall claims and ornamental promises by the helmsmen in Jammu, various significant development works have been carried out at snail's pace with no difference apparently seen on ground as far as comparison between the earlier regimes and the incumbent one is concerned.
The testimony to the aforesaid fact is the plea given by the members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Jammu to J&K Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo to expedite the work on Tawi River Bank and creation of a freshwater lake to attract more tourists to the city. Not much time has passed when the incumbent dispensation gave assurances about speedy completion of this development project besides others but when one compares the pace of the work, it is no better than that of earlier dispensations. The case of the work on the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex is the same because it was also going at a snail's pace. It seems that when it comes to the development of Jammu region, the projects are ‘jinxed' as it took years together to bring to fore the positive results.
The CCI being the ace organization of the traders and industrialists is always at the forefront to highlight the issues of Jammu region but the government seems to be subtle over completing the projects as deadline crossing seems to be in the vogue and nobody in the administration is in a hurry to complete the development projects well in time. The CCI delegation has also demanded improvement in the tourist places because except on papers, things are the same on ground with tourists still struggling to find facilities in Patnitop, Bhaderwah, Poonch, Rajouri, Mansar, Surinsar, etc. There was a time when the representatives of a political party used to say that there is hardly any clean public convenience centre along the NH 44 starting from Lakhanpur to Kashmir or for that matter enroute Poonch or Doda, and used to decry the political parties which remained in the power in J&K. It is sad that the scenario is still the same and pathetic despite that party getting power in both erstwhile state and in the centre.
All said and done, the people in J&K are unlucky because no doubt the regimes changed textures and colours but whosoever enjoyed power in this region better known as ‘Crown of India', never bothered to change its fate as the same old story continues to haunt the people with development and prosperity remaining as a distant dream.
