Move To Shift Capital Sparks Debate
SRINAGAR - Even as the proposal to shift the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir is yet to take off, controversy dogs the idea with debate rag¬ing for and against the govern¬ment move.
Giving vent to the opposi¬tion to shifting of the capital, several political parties, includ¬ing main opposition National Conference, said the massive expenditure needed for moving the secretariat and other offices could be diverted to building schools, hospitals and roads in the state.
"We need no new capital at an exorbitant expenditure of Rs 3.500 crore which could be uti¬lized for the betterment of Kashmiris by constructing schools, colleges, hospitals and roads which are in a dilapidated condition across the valley." NC President Omar Abdullah told PTI.
Ridiculing the idea, another senior leader of the party Ali Mohammad Sagar said "instead of finding ways and means to mitigate the problems of the people the PDP-led coalition government is trying to squan¬der the funds for unproductive projects."
He asked the coalition gov¬ernment to desist from changing the capital for "petty politi¬cal gains."
CPI(M), which supports the coalition government from out¬side, opposes the idea. State Secretary of CP1(M) M Y Tarigami said "1 don't think it is a very serious move yet.
The government complexes should be moved a little away from the market and the beauti¬ful city but not relocated in any other place. Why go there (Parihaspora) to Lalitaditya. The kings are buried there let them rest in peace.
"It is wrong to assume that government wants to benefit villagers by moving the capital city. The government has in fact done very little for the upliftment of rural areas," he said.
Author of the proposal to shift the capital and Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig said the basic objective behind a new capital was to decongest and develop Srinagar as an exclusive tourist resort 'with heritage villages and other amenities to make it among the most attractive tourist destinations on the globe.
The proposal for a new capital has received the Centre's nod which would be ready within next three years at an. estimated cost of Rs 3.500 crores, he said.
Opposing the idea, Chair¬man of National Democratic Front and former MP Abdul Rashid Kabuli accused the gov¬ernment of not attending to the problems of Srinagar, a city of 15 lakh people.
Shifting capital from Srinagar to Parihaspora and moving government offices to rural areas is like shifting of Union capital from Delhi to South India, Kabuli said.
The city of great antiquity has had a chequered history which dates back to 250 BC when king Ashoka founded Srinagar as capital which occupied the site of the present Pandrethan about five runs from Srinagar and named it as Srinagari.
The place was the venue of the Buddhist conference during the reign of Kanishka and Muslim preachers, Syed Sharifuddin Bulbul and Mir Syed Ali Hamdani chose this place to spread Islam, he said, adding the latter capitals of Kashmir founded by successive rulers lost their importance to the city.
It was during the Dogra rule (1846-1947) that Srinagar besides being the capital of Kashmir was elevated to the status, of the summer capital.
Travellers and tourists have been drawn in numbers to see symbol of the paradise on earth and pilgrims and preachers have found the city a place for attainment of ultimate spiritual contentment. (Kashmir Observer, 17 May, 2005)