By Sheikh Qayoom
Srinagar, July 8 (IANS) An employment package announced by the centre for Jammu and Kashmir, which is expected to create 40,000 jobs, has been generally welcomed by the people in the state but some feel a scheme for boosting industries should instead have been unveiled.
The Rs.1,000 crore (over $220 million) employment package cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has made most locals happy but some also sounded a word of caution on its implementation.
"It is a welcome announcement, but a mechanism should be worked out so that the package really filters down to the deserving unemployed youth here. This package should not become another avenue for the rich and the influential to benefit their children in getting lucrative jobs," said Gowhar Maqbool, a hotelier here.
"It is a good step to check the growing unemployment in the state. It is important that this amount is actually spent on addressing unemployment and is not diverted for any other use," said Yusuf Naqashbandi, 40, who was unable to get a government job and teaches in the Biscoe Memorial School here.
The youth in the Kashmir Valley are hopeful the package would come in handy for them after the completion of their professional and academic courses.
"Once I complete my graduation course, I can benefit from the package and get a good job somewhere. Otherwise, I have seen thousands of graduates and post graduates running from pillar to post looking for a government job," said Irshad Ahmad, 21, a college student.
Another college student, Abid, 22, expressed more or less similar feelings.
"For the last many years I have seen educated, unemployed locals seeking jobs abroad," he said.
"In many cases, they have to leave behind their elderly parents who have nobody to care for them. With the announcement of the package, it would now be possible for educated, professionally qualified locals to get handsome jobs within the country," he added.
Satish Gupta, secretary of the chamber of commerce and industry in winter capital Jammu, however, felt the centre should have announced a package to boost the state's industries.
"The package is for imparting training to the unemployed youth. The problem of unemployment could be better addressed if the centre had provided impetus to the industrial sector here which would automatically generate employment for the local youth," said Gupta.
The state has around 500,000 unemployed men and women.
The scheme would be launched to provide job-oriented training to some 40,000 graduates, post-graduates and professional degree holders over a period of five years.