Communication blockade will play havoc with economy: Dr Farooq

Member Parliament and National Conference (NC) President Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said the communication blockade invoked by the PDP-BJP Government would play havoc with the State’s economy and in turn rendering thousands of youth unemployed.

Interacting with various traders’ delegations from Srinagar that called on him, he said the PDP-BJP Government was not only suppressing the people of the State through brute force but was also persecuting them economically.

“The continued blockade of internet will seriously affect our businesses and especially youth-oriented new start-ups in the ecommerce sector that depend primarily on internet accessibility and penetration. This will in turn lead to an increase in unemployment as the private sector; especially the tourism sector will be severely hit. Using such measures to suppress dissent against a deeply unpopular government is as futile an exercise as that government continuing to be in power despite being rejected by the people of the State”, he told the traders’ delegations.

Farooq also expressed amusement at earlier promises of the PDP-BJP Government to usher the State into an era of e-governance and said even basic governance was a far-fetched expectation as far as the Mehbooba Mufti Government was concerned.

“These are the same individuals who used to talk about providing all possible digital platforms and communication opportunities to youth that would help them in the pursuit of their career and entrepreneurial aspirations. Today this Government has resorted to tactics that are regressive and making it hard for our young businessmen and students to achieve their goals”, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said.

Interacting with delegations of young students from Srinagar who called on him he condemned in strongest of terms the Government’s onslaught on young students and said the PDP-BJP Government had declared a full-fledged war even against school students and didn’t even have the civility to spare girl students.

“Such is the ruthlessness and barbarism perpetrated by this Government that even young school going girls are at the receiving ends of batons and teargas shells. We stand in solidarity with the students and ask the Government to stop this merciless, nihilistic assault on our youth”, Farooq added.

The young students also informed Dr. Farooq Abdullah about the severe impact of the internet blockade on their academic pursuits and said those students who were preparing for competitive exams were seriously disadvantaged due to lack of internet access.

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