SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said the Navyug tunnel, which connects Qazigund with Banihal on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, should be named after late Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Talking to the media, Abdullah said the late prime minister’s contribution towards J&K cannot be ignored. “It now takes people four to five hours to travel from Srinagar to Jammu via Srinagar-Jammu national highway during normal days. It is a gift from late PM Dr Manmohan Singh,” he said.
Omar said the four-laning of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was taken up during Dr Singh’s rule. “He had given approval for the project”.
He said there are two key tunnels on the highway. “One of the tunnels has been named after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The new Navyug tunnel connecting Qazigund with Banihal should be named after late PM Dr Manmohan Singh. It is his contribution and I want it to be named after Dr Singh”.
Terming ex PM Manmohan Singh as a true statesman, Omar said his contribution towards J&K will be remembered forever. “He introduced the PM scholarship scheme for J&K students. Besides, it was during his regime that cross-LoC trade was started between two parts of Kashmir.”
‘Rehabilitated pandits, provided reservation’
The chief minister also said that it was during Manmohan Singh’s regime that the Round Table Conference on J&K was held, interlocutors were appointed, steps taken for rehabilitation of migrant Kashmiri Pandits including reservation of jobs for the community.