Inking the truth | Shivang Satya Gupta | Editor-in-Chief
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed along with Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh recently inaugurated a number of developmental projects in Jammu including the most awaited Abhinav Theatre and golf course. The Golf courses and other high end spots hardly matter for the common man who has no reach to them and would instead prefer a refurbished Bahu Fort area while the inauguration of Tawi River Front Park was a welcome step from the common man’s point of view. Having said that there are many question marks that Jammuites are putting on the said inauguration as many skeptics believe it was a clever move on the part of the government to substitute the long pending demand of Artificial Tawi Lake Project which they feel might be shelved secretly as despite the fact that the concerned minister had visited the area a number of times no worthwhile progress has been seen as yet. On the other hand there are reports that the project has been rejected by the so called expert committee with local ministers paying customary visits after every such repot to keep Jammuites in good humour. While the government officials would like us to believe that Tawi River Front Park was in fact the beginning of the much awaited Artificial Lake Project but sources within the government indicate that all was not well with the project and Jammu ministers have been conveyed to avoid talking about it while the newly inaugurated Tawi River Front Park should be publicized as an achievement to keep people in good humour till they forget about the artificial lake project which is waiting to see the light of the day since the days of Maharaja Hari Singh. However observers feel that BJP would not like to commit such a mistake as it would mean another AIIMS type blunder which ultimately would prove costly for the party in Jammu where it has been losing base fast due to policy inertia of the government particularly BJP ministers. It may be recalled that Earth News had discussed the neglect of the Tawi Lake Project in this column under J&K: A Dream Destination series on May 29, 2015 by the successive governments since the day the lake project was first conceived by Maharaja Hari Singh in early thirties when the project could not be taken up due to financial reasons. Later the project was again discussed by the then Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah but nothing changed for the past several decades while the leadership of Jammu preferred a deep slumber instead of forcing the government to act. It is hoped the government does not play with the sentiments of the Jammuites this time and work fast for the construction of artificial lake to make Jammu city a true tourist destination before the next elections wipe it out.
