The Jammu and Kashmir government is working on a multifaceted programme for return of Kashmiri pandits to the Valley and the key to its success is in the restoration of a sense of security in them, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday.
"There is tremendous improvement in the situation in the Valley," Omar told a group of students from University of Chicago currently working on a research project on the pandits. However, the complete restoration of peace and elimination of fear psychosis have to be worked out, he said.
"The state government is doing whatever possible with the assistance of the Union government to make effective dent in this regard," he added.
Elaborating on the multifaceted programme for return of Kashmiri pandits, he said, "Creation of economic opportunities for Kashmiri pandit youth and reservation in government jobs for them are being focused as meaningful incentives to the community to encourage their return to the Valley in a conducive and peaceful atmosphere".
Another important work is to uplift those pandits who stayed in the Valley during the period of disturbance, he said, adding that they are bereft of the benefits available to the migrant Kashmiri pandits under the Prime Minister Reconstruction Programme and other schemes.
The Chief Minister noted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently inaugurated a satellite township of two-room tenement at Jagti in Nagrota for Kashmiri pandit migrants living in camps in Jammu. About 2,500 young pandits have been provided jobs in the Valley and job orders for equal number is in the pipeline, he said.
"This is as a part of the initiative taken to encourage the younger generation to return to the Valley and get involved in the economic and life activities." The chief minister also enumerated other measures and steps afoot to create conducive atmosphere for the return of the pandits to the Valley.
The University of Jammu is hosting the group of students from the United States university and assisting them in their research project on Kashmiri pandit migrants.
