MUZAFFARABAD: Three districts of Muzaffarabad division will observe a `shutter down and wheel-jam` strike on Friday under a `save the state drive` to draw attention towards a host of issues facing the area, including power outages, inflated electricity bills and proposed `displeasing` constitutional amendments.

An announcement was made by Markazi Anjuman-i-Tajran Muzaffarabad chairmanShaukat Nawaz Mir, Muzaffarabad Transport Union President Khawaja Azam Rasool, Murtaza Banday and other leaders of the Students` Action Committee at a joint press conference onWednesday.

They demanded of the legislative assembly members from both sides of the divide to unanimously approve a resolution to establish the rights of the AJK people on the moveable and immoveable resources of their state.

`It`s high time the people across the liberated territory swing into action to save their state,` said Mr Mir while sharing his views on `important issues of public concern`.

`The proposed 15th constitutional amendment is in fact aimed at robbing the elected government in Muzaffarabad of its financial and executive authority and cannot be accepted at any cost,` he said.

`Similarly, the proposed tourism authority bill is also aimed at land-grabbing under of ficial cover rather than facilitating investors in the tourism sector and thus is insupportable,` he added.

Mr Mir said none of the state subjects was averse to development of his state but could not andwould not allow usurpation of its resources.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Rasool pointed out that the AJK territory produced around 3,500 megawatts of cheap electricity but nevertheless it was a `constant victim of forced loadshedding`.

`First the authorities concerned should meet local needs and then transmit the remaining electricity to the national grid,` he demanded.

Mr Rasool, who was administrator of Municipal Corporation Muzaffarabad in the previous PML-N government, said the diversion of Neelum River for Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) had subjected state capital Muzaffarabad to innumerable environmental issues,including shortage of potable water, which ought to be addressed on a war footing.

Side by side, he stressed, the federal government should also constitute a high-powered judicial commission to probe the mega corruption in the NJHP where powergeneration had recently come to a grinding halt due to cracks in the tunnel.

In a visible reference to the proposed Kohala hydropower project, Mr Rasool made it clear that people of Muzaffarabad would not allow any further diversion of their rivers in the wake of their first `bitter beyond description` experience in the NJHP.

`Inaction on this and many other issues hasforced the transport union to keep their vehicles off roads on Friday,` he said, calling upon tourists to avoid travelling to Muzaffarabad, Neelum and Jhelum valley districts on Friday.

Mr Banday and his colleagues maintained that since these issues had a direct bearing on thefuture of the younger generations, the student community had decided to join Friday`s activities with zeal and zest.

They also demanded the government to restore student unions in Azad Kashmir without further waste of time.