'We have to stand true to people's expectations in J&K'

The biggest change in last four years is that the end of street violence has brought big relief to state's common man, says Jammu & Kashmir L-G Manoj Sinha

- Shahid Faridi, Rajesh Kumar Thakur and Fayaz Wani

IT has been four years since the abrogation of Article 370, and three years since the present Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha took charge of the state. He spoke to Shahid Faridi, Rajesh Kumar Thakur and Fayaz Wani about how far the Union and the state governments have been able to achieve the goals they had set in terms of ending militancy in the troubled state and bringing economic prosperity for its people. Excerpts:

How have you fared on the economic front, as it was said that Article 370 was the biggest obstacle on the road to prosperity? What have been the biggest benefits of revoking the Article?

I would like to say that street violence has largely ended. Now, the common man can live on his own terms. Our neighbour is constantly attempting to facilitate infiltration, but our security forces and the Army are always on alert to thwart any such attempt. About the advantages of nullification of Article 370 and 35A, I have to say three things: Today the common man is feeling relieved that there is no street violence and that it was sponsored. I would not like to go into the reasons of why it used to happen.

Secondly, there used to be bandh calls by secessionists and terrorists on more than 150 days a year. Schools, colleges, businesses, trade, traffic etc would come to a standstill. This has ended. You can find people shopping even at 10 pm. People can be seen playing guitar and relaxing at Dal Lake till late. It may seem a small thing, but it is a big change.

I feel the biggest change is that the state's common man can live his life the way he wants. This change has benefitted the poor people the most. Auto-drivers, hawkers, restaurant workers, shikara-walas and houseboat owners bore the brunt of the bandhs. With peace returning, 1.88 crore tourists visited Kashmir last year. This year, till July-end, 1.27 crore tourists have visited Kashmir.