Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday advised all the Chief Ministers to ensure “comfortable environment” for Kashmiri students and workers in their states as there have been incidents of their harassment at some places.
Singh’s advice came at a meeting of Northern Zonal Council (NZC) of the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan, National Capital territory of Delhi and union territory of Chandigarh held here.
The advisory came after a group of Kashmiris studying at Mewar University in Rajasthan’s Chhittorgarh district were last month allegedly thrashed by a group of unidentified locals. The accused were arrested a few days later.
At that time, the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had condemned the attack and also, appealed to all state governments to ensure the safety of Kashmiris living in different parts of the country.
Secretary of the Inter-state Council Secretariat, Sanjeevani Kutty, while talking to the mediapersons here on Friday said, “The Union Minister has advised all the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries at the NZC meet that they should take care of the youth of Kashmir, wherever they are studying and they should be treated well and should be made feel welcomed.”
“The Home Minister has told the State authorities that the Kashmiris should be provided comfortable environment wherever they are... They may be working or studying, they should be extended warmth. This was an important message he gave to all the representatives present from different State Governments in the meeting,” she said.
She added, “The Minister stressed that all youth of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari are our own children and should be treated accordingly.”
Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, said, “A lot of Kashmiris are studying outside the state of Kashmir, especially in the northern region. There have been some incidents which the central government was very concerned about and sought the support of CMs on this issue.”
Besides Rajnath Singh, those who attended the meeting included Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore, who is also Chandigarh’s Administrator, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar, Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, Delhi lt Governor Anil Baijal, J&K Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, Himachal’s Health Minister Thakur Kaul Singh and Rajasthan’s Minister for Water Resources Ram Pratap among others.
The NZC also deliberated upon 18 issues of common interest among the member states.
Secretary of the Inter-state Council Secretariat, Sanjeevani said that the major issues discussed included interstate problem of effluents generated from industrial areas as well as from sewage from towns draining in river Yamuna and Ghaggar as well as canals. In a major step forward, all the member states unanimously agreed to jointly tackle the problem of water pollution under the guidance of Central Pollution Control Board, she said.
“The states were also urged to try to settle the contentious matters of sharing water and hydropower amicably through the mediation of the concerned Union Ministries of Water Resources and Power. This will help harnessing potential hydel power at very low cost,” she added.
Apart from this, issues discussed in the meeting included need for fiscal and infrastructural harmony in northern states, joint efforts for export of fruits, flowers and vegetables from the states storage and disposal facility for disposal of hazardous waste, contamination of water in canals of Rajasthan off-taking from Harike barrage and setting up of mini hydel projects on Bhakra main line canal at 27 sites with total 63.75 MW of power in Punjab.