'Govt should make up losses incurred by J-K in agitation'

NEW DELHI: Describing the agreement reached to solve the Amarnath issue as a "welcome relief", Rajya Sabha MP Karan Singh today asked the Centre and the state governments to take measures to try and make up the massive losses incurred by Jammu and Kashmir during the agitation.

In a statement here, he asked all stakeholders in the Jammu as well as Kashmir regions to accept the agreement in "good grace".

"Apart from the reconstitution of the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board, what is urgently needed are measures by the Centre, the state Government and civil society to try and make up the massive losses that have been incurred both in Jammu and Kashmir by disruption of normal trade, commerce, tourism and daily life," he in a statement here.

Singh also asked the Government to take special measures to help students overcome the backlog so that they do not lose an academic year.

For this purpose, coaching classes will be required at the school and college levels. "I also hope that compensation to the next of kin of those who died in the course of this prolonged agitation, both in Jammu and Kashmir, is paid expeditiously," he added.