The apex executive committee of the prominent and the oldest Dogra organisation, the Dogra Sadar Sabha, Jammu and Kashmir, has once again appealed to the Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah and the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Manoj Sinha, to take immediate and urgent steps to strengthen the grassroot institutions of Numberdars and Chowkidars in this most sensitive part of the country.
The DSS Executive Committee headed by Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak, President of the Sabha and former cabinet minister, has stressed that the institution holds the key to establishment and maintenance of close and effective liaison of the administration with the public, especially in the rural areas, by ensuring timely and authentic reporting of positive as well as negative activities and developments in respective areas, that has become so much imperative for curbing not only the social evils like smuggling of bovines, menace of drugs trafficking etc, but also putting an effective check on movement and planning by other anti-social and anti national elements, whose direct or indirect, deliberate or inadvertent involvement in aiding and abetting terrorism cannot be ruled out.
While expressing deep shock, anguish and concern over the intensified and intermittent terrorist activities, particularly in Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Doda, Kathua and other districts of Jammu division, during the last few days and a couple of months, in which a number of precious lives of security personnel, army men and civilians, including the pilgrims, have been lost, Dogra Sadar Sabha has impressed upon the government to seriously review the security scenario in the Union Territory, particularly in Jammu region, in an integrated and holistic manner, so that the common nationalist population is reassured of the alertness, commitment and efficiency of the Central Government and the UT administration to nip the evil in the bud.
The Sabha has maintained that the innocent and law abiding common nationalist people should not be harassed or intimidated by the Army and security agencies at any cost, but the fact that the Pakistan sponsored terrorists have carried out lethal strikes at will, deep inside our territory cannot be overlooked; it can not be possible without some kind of complacency and inside support and the government must tackle this challenge effectively and immediately. In a resolution passed by the executive committee during the meeting held by Th. Gulchain Singh Charak, the DSS has added that maintenance of sustainable peace, law and order, and security and safety of life and property of the people is the responsibility of the government and an integrated multi-pronged foolproof strategy must be devised and implemented by both, the Central and the UT governments to restore confidence of the people. ‘At a time when the Election Commission of India and Jammu and Kashmir appear to be committed to hold elections for the J&K Assembly by September end, the government should not allow the things to slip out of its hands and all preventive measures must be taken to curb and crush terrorism with an iron hand.
They also appealed to the public of this region to not to fall prey to the hands of enemy and maintain age old brotherhood in the region at all costs. The Dogra Sadar Sabha has also asked the Government of India to shift the Jammu division back under the Nagrota Corps from Western Command in Chandigarh to ensure better and integrated dominence of the area.
Among others present during the Press Confrence were Col. Karan Singh(VP), Prem Sagar Gupta (Gen. Secretary), Gambhir Dev Singh Charak (Incharge Youth Wing), Dr. Vidhya Sagar Sharma (Secretary).