Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday asserted that separating Ladakh from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir will not affect the age-old ties of the people of what are now separate Union territories. “Maps may change, but changing maps will not affect our relationship with you. Our bond with Ladakh is centuries old, and it will remain strong,” he told a delegation of public representatives from Kargil which met him in Jammu to raise the issues the people of Ladakh residing or visiting Jammu and Kashmir are facing. An official spokesman said that Mr. Abdullah chaired a high-level meeting with the delegation from the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil and senior officers of J&K to “discuss and resolve various concerns of students, patients and residents of Ladakh”. The meeting was attended also by J&K’s Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, Minister for Jal Shakti Javed Ahmed Rana, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and other government functionaries. The LAHDC Kargil delegation was led by its chairman and chief executive councillor Muhammad Jaffer Akhoon, alongside Feroz Ahmad Khan and other councillors, Lok Sabha MP from Ladakh Haji Muhammad Haneefa Jan and senior National Conference leader and former Minister Qamar Ali Akhoon. While speaking at the meeting, the Chief Minister urged the visiting delegation to take up the matter with the Ladakh administration to ensure the posting of senior officers in Jammu and Srinagar, enabling them to address the challenges faced by Ladakh residents in J&K more effectively, the spokesman said. He added that the Chief Minister assured the delegation that space would be provided at Srinagar Sher-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and other super-specialty hospitals in the Kashmir Valley for the establishment of a help desk, which will be managed by Ladakh administration staff to facilitate immediate assistance for patients from Kargil and Leh. He further urged the delegation to create awareness among Ladakh students about the quota available in J&K, noting that many seats remain unutilized. Stressing the historical ties between Ladakh and J&K, the Chief Minister reaffirmed that administrative reorganization would not alter the deep-rooted relationship between the two regions, the spokesman said. He quoted Mr. Abdullah as saying, “Maps may change, but changing maps will not affect our relationship with you. Our bond with Ladakh is centuries old, and it will remain strong.” Mr. Choudhary and Mr. Rana assured the delegation that all their concerns related to roads, drinking water and other essential services would be addressed on priority. Earlier, the Kargil delegation highlighted several pressing issues, including the appointment of nodal officers for patients referred to SKIMS and other super-specialty hospitals in Srinagar. It also raised concerns about the selection and training of paramedical students in J&K’s paramedical training institutes, the extension of existing student hostels in Srinagar and Jammu, and the need for more admissions of Ladakh students in various colleges and universities of J&K. It sought tourism promotion for Kargil and other areas of Ladakh through events organized in Srinagar.
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