National Conference President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah has said that the youth of J&K are sinking under the weight of the incumbent administration’s indifference.

Dr Farooq said this while interacting with party workers who had called on him at his residence. The visiting delegation apprised the party president about various issues concerning the people, particularly youth.

Dr Farooq said that besides stressing the importance of J&K’s identity, the 5 August 2019 decisions when Article 370 was abrogated have impacted the local educated and skilled youth innumerable. The mounting evidence is in the form of widespread and scathing unemployment, job losses resulting in their continuing alienation and frustration.

The NC President further stated that the lack of interest of the incumbent administration in the needs of our youth has also incurred a cost in terms of physical and mental health.

“Youth is a major part of our demographics, but regrettably this promising chunk of the J&K population is living in frustration, unemployment, and insecurity. Despite having the best of capabilities our youth from Kashmir, Chenab, and Pirpanjal and Jammu regions are uniformly caught in a vortex. Mired by hopelessness and anxiety, our capable youth is taking to drug addiction and substance abuse. The situation is very grim and our able youth are living the grimmest nightmare, one which brings new government diktats seeking to deprive them of their land rights, natural resources, livelihood and freedom. There has been no respite,” he said.

Dr Farooq further said that there is a great need to come up with a “youth project” that seeks to relocate and rejuvenate the disenfranchised energies of our educated and capable youth.

“Most of the impounding issues faced by our youth is unemployment. The much-touted promises of local and central Governments on extravaganza, investment and fast-tracking of recruitment has fallen flat. On the contrary, unemployment in all the regions of J&K has seen a manifold increase, which also had a cascading effect on other social and health issues particularly in our youth,” he said.

He maintained that NC remains committed to revision and revival of a youth policy that will create a situation wherein JK youth will get an education, employment and remain free from drug abuse, parochialisation, sectarianism, and communalism. “A situation wherein our youth can pursue varied vocations in a free environment holding their heads high,” he added.