Dubai will make huge investment in Kashmir: Govt

Ground Report | New Delhi: Dubai investment in Kashmir; When civilians are being killed one after the other in Kashmir and migrant labourers are fleeing the area, the central government has said that an agreement has been reached with a Dubai-based company for infrastructure construction in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dubai investment in Kashmir

On Monday, the Central Government said that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Dubai under which investment in Jammu and Kashmir has been agreed. However, the government has not explained in detail what are the terms of the agreement and how much will be invested.

This MoU is about Jammu Kashmir's prospect and I am confident it will set the pace in the business sector of the future that is key to the prosperity of people. It renews the foundation of cooperation and reaffirms the government’s commitment to building Aatm-Nirbhar Jammu Kashmir, which will immensely contribute to Aatm-Nirbhar Bharat, observed the Lt Governor.

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“The government is committed to develop a new industrial culture in Jammu & Kashmir, create greater bonds, and enhance the scope of investments in future to build the world’s best business enterprises in the UT”, said the Lt Governor.

If this investment happens, it will be the first foreign investment in Jammu and Kashmir. The government issued a statement saying that under this agreement, it has been agreed to build an industrial park, IT tower, multi-storey buildings, a medical college, and a specialty hospital.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal said in a statement, "The world has recognized the wave of development on which Jammu and Kashmir are riding." It has been said in this statement that various institutions of Dubai have shown interest in investment in Kashmir.

Current situation in Kashmir

The situation in Srinagar and surrounding areas remains very tense. On Monday, a large number of migrants were shifted to safer places. People are also leaving Kashmir on a large scale.

In this month, 11 people have been murdered in the state. People of both Hindu and Muslim religions are included in the death. Five out of 11 people are migrant workers while the rest were local people. After this, there is an atmosphere of panic among the people. On Monday, the administration shifted thousands of people to safer places while hundreds left Kashmir overnight.

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A local official said, “We have shifted thousands of laborers to safer places and arrangements are being made to send them home.” Apart from this, security forces have increased patrolling so that militant incidents can be stopped.

Why is there tension?

On 5 August 2019, the Government abolished Article 370 of the Constitution giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and divided the region into three parts. After that, the area was kept under strict army curfew for months. Since then the area was generally peaceful, but this month itself, a series of killings started, which has increased the tension and panic.

Thousands of Muslim migrants from other states of India work in the Kashmir Valley. Many areas have survived on the strength of these migrant labourers. But the current attacks have frightened these migrants.

Earlier, the situation in Kashmir has been very bad, but for the first time, incidents of selective killing of migrants and common citizens are happening. Mohammad Salem, 32, has been working in Kashmir for the last six years. Salem, who hails from Bihar, says, "We have seen worse times than this but we have never been targeted. This time I am feeling scared."

Salem told that the police picked him up and his accomplices from their rented house on Sunday night and took them to a safe place. He says, "We can't sit here empty-handed. We will go back."

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