“Not only educated but skilled and unskilled youth are grappling with unemployment due to multiple reasons like economic slowdown, pandemic lockdown but essentially the avenues are very limited in Jammu and Kashmir, which is lacking corporate and industrial sectors and hence dependence on the government sector is more”, *Mr Rana said while interacting with people during his day long extensive tour to Panchayat Ghorda, Bhagani, Keri, Dhanu, Sarote, Jandyal Lower, Upper, Ranjan Upper, Ranjan Lower and Showa in Mathwar area of Nagrota Assembly Constituency.
The Provincial President said unemployability has restricted the scope for skilled and unskilled workforce as also technocrats, who have nowhere to go. Continued unemployment has brought despondency among them and they are genuinely feeling pushed to the wall, he said while urging the administration to focus towards this end since the future of lakhs of youth is in jeopardy.
He recalled how the innovative measures like Udaan, Himayat and SKEWPY initiated had brought about a discernible change in the employment sector years ago but skipping these proved detrimental for the careers of enterprising youth, He said the experiment had worked well, as motivated youth had significantly succeeded in generating employment and establishing entrepreneurship in a place where white collar jobs alone had been a culture.
Mr Rana also made a passionate appeal to the government for expediting recruitment process to a whopping number of vacancies available in various government departments, saying this will address the major concern of the educated unemployed particularly those nearing over-age. He also stressed the need for launching special drives in police and other forces to create opportunities for the desirous youth of the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the unemployment problem cannot be put under the carpet for a long time keeping in view the frustration gripping the youth.
The Provincial President also interacted with the locals, listened to their problems and assured that these will be taken up at appropriate forums for redressal.
During his tour, Mr Devender Singh Rana inaugurated an enterprise at Thathi started by an unemployed youth Mr Ajay Singh and wished him success.
Prominent among those accompanying the Provincial President during his visit included District President Jammu Rural 'B' Som Nath Khajuria, Block President Mathwar Suresh Kumar Sharma, BDC Chairperson Mathwar Sharifan Begum, Sarpanch Dhanu Sain Khan, Sarpanch Keri Nakshatar Singh, Sarpanch Gorda Ashwani Kumar, Sarpanch Ranjan Sanjeev Singh, Sarpanch Lower Ranjan Sohan Singh, Sarpanch Showa Naseem Fatima, Ex- Sarpanch Ravinder Singh (Peter), Ex Sarpanch Anwar Khan, Ex Sarpanch Mumtaz Ahmed, Ex- Sarpanch Balbir Singh Jamwal, Kuldeep Singh Langeh, Rekha Langeh, Kabla Singh, Balbir Singh Jamwal , Dayal Singh (Lucky), Ajay Singh (Kaka), Vinod Sharma, Mohd Sadeeq, Sabar Hussain, Talib Hussain, Bagh Hussain, Gh Nabi, Ajeet Singh, Rakesh Bharti, Makhan Singh, Santokh Chand, Ashok Kumar, Vikram Kumar, Ashraf Hussain and others
