Militancy remains biggest concern despite drastic decline in violence: Murmu

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor G C Murmu on Saturday said militancy remains the biggest concern as innocent youth are indoctrinated to take misguided paths in the union territory.
"On this day, I salute the bravery of our police and security forces for battling militancy and ensuring that there is public order in Jammu and Kashmir. The nation is proud of them," Murmu said in his Republic Day message here.
Extending greetings to the people on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day, Murmu said, "We also pay homage to civilians who have fallen prey to wanton violence."
"Militancy remains our biggest concern as innocent youth are indoctrinated to take misguided paths.Although incidents of militancy have come down drastically, the threat posed by it requires attention not only to eradicate it but also prevent loss due to it," he said.
He said the valiant security personnel need to continue to be on guard to thwart any attempts to disturb peace across Jammu and Kashmir, thereby disrupting the development, growth and opportunities for peace-loving people.
Referring to various curbs in the aftermath of abrogation of provisions of Article 370 last August, Murmu said these restrictions were necessary owing to the problems being created and propaganda from across the border.
"Our priority was that there should be no bloodshed which we have achieved," he said.
He said the restrictions on many fronts have been largely relaxed in a gradual manner.
"We facilitated people to perform their tasks even under difficult circumstances. I thank the people of Jammu and Kashmir for cooperating on this front," he said.
On the security front, a substantial number of bunkers are now complete in border areas of Jammu and the rest would be completed soon.
"We have sanctioned bunkers in Bandipora (north Kashmir) and will be doing so in Baramulla and Kupwara also," he said.
To improve investigation of cyber crime, two cyber police stations have been set up, one each at Jammu and Srinagar, the Lt Governor said.
"Out of the 2,014 sanctioned posts for two women police battalions, the process of recruitment against 1,350 direct recruit posts is in progress. Besides, out of the 2,014 posts sanctioned for two border battalions, the process of recruitment against 1,350 direct recruit posts is in progress," he said.
Referring to the fall of the PDP-BJP government in 2018 and subsequent developments, he said the last one-and-a-half years have been transformative for Jammu and Kashmir in many ways.
"Under the Governor's and the President's Rule, the goal has been simple - good governance and delivering development. To provide good governance, a people-centric and a development-oriented work culture has been introduced with a focus on results.
"The goal has been on timely completion of projects and delivery of benefits. In future, we will take more measures to ensure that the government is run in a rule-based manner with no arbitrariness or delays. Accountability will be ensured at all levels. The primary duty of government employees is public service and this will be ensured," he said.
Murmu said a lot has been done on the development front in the last 18 months. "Implementation of the Prime Minister's Development Programme (PMDP) has been accelerated with substantial progress in the past 18 months as compared to the previous three years," he said.