People in Kashmir border should get more facilities: Governor

Jammu, Feb 12 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra Thursday said people in border villages should be provided adequate facilities because of the sustained ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

Vohra was speaking at the two-day conference of governors chaired by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi, said a statement issued here.

"The governor emphasised the need for adequate facilities to be provided to the rural population residing in the villages along the international border and beyond.

He also stressed the need for giving high importance to the rapid development of border areas.

Stating that there can be no development without effective connectivity, the governor said Kashmir has very poor road network, which leads to unsatisfactory and costly transport.

The cost of construction materials and consumer items was very high because of the high transportation costs from the plains, he said.

The governor asked for increase in the annual allocation for border regions under the border area development programme and at least a four-fold enlargement of the Border Roads Organisation in the state which, he said in its present form, cannot handle the large workload.

He also urged better attention to the maintenance of roads and tunnels to enable all-weather link in the state.