BUDGAM, (KMW News): Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Saturday underlined the role of women in checking the menace of female foeticide and drug addiction among the youth describing these danger
ous threats to the future of the State.
Speaking at a function after he launched UMEED Programme for women empowerment and welfare with All India Congress Committee Vice President, Rahul Gandhi here, the Chief Minister said that the reports of female foeticide from Jammu and Kashmir are of greater concern and alarming while drug addiction among the youth is equally disturbing.
Omar Abdullah said that these two dangerous social diseases, if not restricted well in time, the future of the State would be endangered. He said the women groups to be organized under UMEED have a special role to play in eradicating these evils. He called upon them to focus on these important concerns and safeguard the future of the State. “While attending other socio-economic problems, the society are confronted with, women have to divert special attention for checking female foeticide and drug addictionâ€, he emphasized.
Omar Abdullah assured full support of his government for the success of UMEED and referred the efforts of Union Minister for Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh and All India Congress Committee Vice President Rahul Gandhi for getting this Rs. 750 crore Programme through at the Union Government level. He sought similar support of Rahul Gandhi in getting cleared various other issues of Jammu and Kashmir pending with the Union Government.
Omar Abdullah said that empowerment of women in the State has been flagged as a focused area by his government and 33 percent reservation in Panchayat Elections for Women vindicates this intension. He lauded the women of Jammu and Kashmir for actively participating in women empowerment programmes and said that the contesting of women candidates for all 33 percent reserved Panchayat Halqas determines the courage and enthusiasm of women of the State to be equal part in the development process.
Omar Abdullah said that the UMEED programme which was last year launched for only four blocks of the State would now cover entire Jammu and Kashmir. He said the programme would help in a big way to organize women and empower them to address the socio-economic issues and create wide-ranging livelihood earning opportunities for women.
Omar Abdullah said that the poverty in Jammu and Kashmir is not as severe as that of Jarkhand, Chatisgarh and other such parts of the Country. He said that all credit for this goes to Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who conferred the land ownership rights to farmers and made them owners of the land eradicating their poverty. He said with the increase in population the pressure on agriculture land has increased many folds, as such, the need for creating new avenues of income generation for rural population has attained important dimension. He said UMEED like initiatives would address this need to a greater extent. He thanked Rahul Gandhi for visiting the State and launching the scheme for entire Jammu and Kashmir today.
Speaking on the occasion, All India Congress Committee Vice President, Rahul Gandhi said that the holistic development of the society is not possible without the active participation of women in the development process. He said the faster growth and eradication of poverty in the States like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra is because of the empowerment of women and their active participation in development programmes.
Rahul Gandhi said that Union Government has sanctioned Rs. 750 crore under UMEED programme to Jammu and Kashmir to organize self-help groups of women for addressing their economic challenges and contributing in curbing the social evils. He cited the example of Amethi Parliamentary Constituency which he represents in the Parliament and said that UMEED like initiative has given confidence to women to work and stand up on their own feet.
Rahul Gandhi said that during his last year’s visit to the State, he interacted with the youth at Kashmir University and asked them to visit Amethi and observe the benefits percolated to women under UMEED so that this programme could also be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. He said after visiting Amethi the youth of Jammu and Kashmir was of the view that this programme could also be highly beneficial for the State. “I then took Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah with me to Amethi so that he could also take a view of the success of this programmeâ€, he said and added that this culminated into launch of UMEED in Jammu and Kashmir.
Rahul Gandhi expressed confidence that the scheme would revolutionize the status of rural women in Jammu and Kashmir alongwith addressing social issues confronting the society. He also assured support to the women for the success of UMEED in the State and told them to work with devotion, dedication and full confidence. “We can provide you every sort of help but you have to work yourselves to achieve goals of welfare, social justice and developmentâ€, he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar in his address expressed the gratitude to Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah and All India Congress Committee Vice President, Rahul Gandhi for launching the programme for entire Jammu and Kashmir at today’s function and said that UMEED has generated hope that organizing women in self-help groups and extending economic and logistic support to them to defeat poverty, would yield positive results for the comprehensive development of women in the State.
In his welcome address, Minister of State for Rural Development, Viqar Rasool thanked Chief Guest, Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah and other dignitaries for participating in today’s programme which he described a historic event. He also thanked Rahul Gandhi for his keen interest in the development of Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh, All India Congress Committee, General Secretary, In-charge Jammu and Kashmir, Mohan Prakash, President J&K Pradesh Congress Committee and Member Parliament, Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz, local MLA Aga Ruhulla Mehdi and various senior officers from Union and State Governments were present on the occasion.
Omar Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi alongwith the team of Ministers also interacted with a group of J&K women from Lar, Khan Sahib, Basholi and Chenani blocks who have returned after visiting Andhra Pradesh to observe the success of UMEED. They narrated their experience and said that they have organized 300 women groups with 3000 members so far in these four blocks and the process is going on. They expressed satisfaction on UMEED initiative and exuding confidence in this programme they said that they have found the programme highly promising for the development of women and addressing their socio-economic issues.
Under the UMEED programme 90,000 self-help groups linking 9 lakh women in 143 blocks covering 4098 panchayats of the State would be organized in five years to ameliorate their lot and address problems confronting women in different fields of life besides ensuring their economic upliftment.
