A number of prominent Indians based in Jeddah attended a webinar on Thursday to take stock of the recent developments that have taken place in India's Jammu and Kashmir. The webinar, which was organized by Pradeep Sharma, a well-known Jammu resident, to mark the 74th anniversary of "Black Day," highlighted the progress made in various fields — education, healthcare, infrastructure and investment — in India's newly created Union Territories. The webinar shone a spotlight on a number of socio-economic measures undertaken in the territories to address unemployment and other pressing issues. During the course of the webinar, a brief presentation was made by Pradeep Sharma to highlight various developmental initiatives being undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir that have received a strong and enthusiastic response from the residents. The highlights of the ongoing development works include tunnels and railway projects, Delhi-Katra expressway, metro in Srinagar and Jammu, the world's largest solar electricity park, 7 medical colleges, 2 AIIMS and many employment schemes. The participants commended the initiative of the government and shared their views and ideas on the best possible practices that can be implemented to bring the region at par with other states in terms of infrastructure, connectivity, trade, commerce employment, medical facilities and education. Sharma also shared that the citizens of the area are now more confident and these developments have eased their woes and worries. Vijay Soni, a Jeddah resident, expressed that employment to the youth in the region would improve overall living standards and aid peace, employment in areas of agriculture, food industry and tourism has great potential. Ramnarayan Iyer pointed out the acceptability of other state residents and ease of doing business would be vital to make any of these projects effective, while Siraj Rafath mentioned the need to ensure security in the region so that tourism goes back to the good old days of glory. Mir Gazanfar Zaki and Nasir Khurshid said the webinar was very informative and made us aware of such initiatives that are underway in Jammu and Kashmir. KTA Muneer particularly praised the initiative of the government of making senior government officers stay overnight in villages to better understand the concerns of residents. Mir Firoz commended the development efforts and highlighted the importance of inclusiveness and putting the nation first. He paid respect to the soldiers martyred during the 1947-48 battle of Noshera and Jhangar and mentioned his lineage to Brigadier Usman, known as Lion of Nowshera (MVC), who had led 50 para brigade and played a vital role in pushing back the invading tribals. S.P. Singh expressed his optimism in the initiatives and said that trust-building through deliverance will gradually lead to success in developing and streamlining the region. The webinar concluded with a thanking note from Pradeep Sharma and was reciprocated by the attendees. — SG
