Many residents in J&K remain unimpressed with PM's speech

New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday defended his government's decision to revoke provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, a section of residents alleged the way it was done was "extremely undemocratic".

Some even claimed the Centre only wanted to "win lands and not hearts of Kashmiris".

From students to professionals, belonging to both Jammu and Kashmir regions, many were apprehensive that taking away the special status will render the "ecologically sensitive" province "vulnerable" to exploitation due to infrastructure-related activities.

"With revoking of the Article, floodgates will be opened for the corporate sector to invest in big projects like hotels, flyovers and other big buildings. It will harm our pristine environment, which had so far been left largely unharmed due to the restrictions that come under the Article," said a Kashmiri journalist, who did not wish to be identified.

He cited the example of Uttarakhand to support his claim, saying the country saw how houses and

hotels built close to rivers damaged the environment in the state.

"We do not want that to happen in our homeland," he said. Ajaz Ahmed, a Delhi-based physiotherapist who is in his 30s, alleged, "They (the government) only want the land of Kashmir, they do not want to win the hearts of Kashmiris".

"If they wanted to win our trust, they should have taken us into confidence, discussed about the pros and cons of the exercise and made us feel secure. Our families are living under siege there. If an emergency arises, our families won't even have access to an ambulance," he said.

Reaching out to Kashmiris with messages of hope and optimism, Prime Minister Modi on Thursday assured them of all-round development, early and transparent elections and end to terrorism. He defended his government's move scrapping the provisions of Article 370 and asserted they only gave separatism,

corruption, family rule and were used by Pakistan as a tool to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a nearly 40-minute televised address to the nation, three days after the far-reaching decision, Modi also sought to assuage concerns of the people after his government split the state into Union Territories, saying Jammu and Kashmir will not remain a UT for long.