MT News Service
Jammu, April 15:
Congress leaders from Jammu East Block 7, Ward No. 4, on Thursday, held a meeting at Purani Mandi, Jammu city under the leadership of Senior Congress leader and Former Minister J&K Yogesh Sawhney, General Secretary PCC & InCharge District President Jammu (U), to review various issues and problems concerning the residents of Jammu City. The meeting was organised by Pawan Dev Singh, InCharge Jammu East. The meeting talked about strengthening the party at the booth level, and booth level events. It was decided that the party will bolster it’s grass root campaigning, conduct ward wise meetings, ward wise programmes and door-to-door events. They will focus on gearing up booth level strengthening of the party. The gathering also discussed and highlighted matters of lack of sanitization drives in Jammu city, the increasing threat of coronavirus and health issues, failure of the Ayushman Bharat Card scheme in Jammu, coupled with the lack of development in the Jammu city area, various infrastructural shortcomings and negligence among others.
Prominent senior Congress leaders Madan Lal Malagar, Dr. Ramakant Khajuria, Pawan Dev Singh, Atul Sharma, Chander Shekhar Sharma, Raj Kumar Dogra, Vijay Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Ram Magotra, Rakesh Sharma, Surinder Kumar, Rakesh Kumar and Raj Singh attended the meeting.
Sawhney said that interaction with local representation revealed that residents are gravely concerned for their health amidst the looming pandemic. He informed that they said the Ayushman Bharat cards issued by the government have no relevance since major hospitals in Jammu, including Jammu Medical College and Narayana, are not entertaining them. The beneficiaries thus only have their benefits on paper as no practical help is ensured through the scheme. Thus it is no more than a scam as far is Jammu is concerned. Furthermore, the people have informed us that due process of sanitization is not being carried out periodically in Jammu city as is required. The second wave of Coronavirus is on the horizon and poses major threat to all, but especially in a crowded city like Jammu, where shops and markets are filled with people everyday, it becomes riskier. However, despite this fact health advisories are not being followed to the tee. On the other hand, the people are not following covid guidelines, and the government is not prioritizing preventive measures. This is a huge failure of the Health Department which has failed to implement and protect people. Jammu city is a crowded space, sanitization is extremely important especially since lakhs of new cases are being recorded everyday.
Further elaborating on the issue, Sawhney said that especially in the time of Covid, cleanliness and health should be major concerns. Jammu is not receiving equal development opportunities as other areas. Hospital beds are not available in Jammu, health facilities are being denied to the common man. Putting on billboards on turning Jammu into a Smart City, won’t make Jammu a Smart City, without the needed technological development in all sectors. Right now, the condition is such that people of the Jammu city area are scared about their health and there is no redressal of this fear by the government as such. Being a tightly packed area, Jammu city is exposed to a big risk and large number of cases can come from here, posing a risk to people’s lives and safety. Yet, the government remains passive. This reflects the insensitivity and inaction of the BJP leaders when it comes to Jammu. Repeated complaints and frequently reiterated grievances by the public has come to no use. They forget that Jammu city is the heart of Jammu. The former Minister further said that there’s an undeniable social impact of this oversight by authorities as well, which leads to resentment and bitterness among the general public. It seems that the administration has also turned a blind eye towards their genuine trouble, he added.
