Ganderbal, Nov 2: To observe the Vigilance Awareness Week and sensitize the students and employees about the adverse effects of corruption and the role of vigilance, the Department of Students Welfare (DSW) kick-started a two-day seminar at Tulmulla campus here on Thursday.
Prof Shahid Rasool, Dean Academic Affairs, Prof. M Afzal Zargar, Registrar, Abdul Waheed Shah, SSP-JKPS AIG Headquarters Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) J&K, Dr. Zahoor Ahmad Wani, SSP, ACB, Srinagar, Prof. Farooq. A. Mir Dean, School of Law, Prof. Wali Muhammad Shah, Chief Vigilance Officer, Dr. Irfan Aalam, Dean, Students Welfare, Parvaiz Ahmad Rather Inspector, ACB, Srinagar, Ghulam Jeelani Dar, CPO, ACB, Srinagar, faculty members, research scholars, students and staff were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the participants, SSP, Abdul Waheed Shah, asked the students to uphold the integrity and honesty after joining the professional streams and the government organizations. He remarked that it is a shared duty of every citizen to extend all possible support to the government agencies fighting corruption. Emphasizing the role that transparency and empowered citizenship can play in the fight against corruption, Waheed Shah, underscored the need of inculcating moral and ethical values among the children from the beginning in order to make them understand the perils of corruption.
Addressing the gathering, Dean Academic Affairs, Prof Shahid Rasool, said that nobody should tolerate corruption at any level. “People should come forward and register complaints in the Anti-Corruption Bureaus against the corrupt practices in the public and private sector so that the culprits are brought to book,” he said. He said that corrupt practices bring temporary benefits to the individual, but are counterproductive in the long run. Prof. Shahid asked the DSW to organize more such awareness programmes in order to sensitize the employees about their role in preventing the corrupt practices at the workplaces.
Speaking on the occasion, Registrar, Prof M Afzal Zargar, said the objective of organizing the event and inviting the experts from the ACB is to fully sensitize the students about their role and responsibility to combat the growing menace of corruption in the society. “Corruption is eating the vitals of the country and there is a need to stand up and take effective measures to root out the same,” Prof Afzal Zargar said. He asked the students to take initiatives in the fight against corruption and help in making the country corruption free.
In his speech, SSP, ACB, Dr Zahoor Ahmad Wani, said, the Vigilance Awareness Week is one of the ways to increase public awareness about the perils of corruption. He said the fight against corruption was a continuous process and stressed that every citizen should be vigilant and ensure the highest standards of honesty and integrity in public life.
Dean School of Law, Prof Farooq A. Mir, said that corruption breeds corruption and has an adverse impact on the functioning of the government run departments. “We have to take stringent measures to nip the evil in the bud as the corruption steals from the poor,” Prof Mir added.
Chief Vigilance Officer, Prof Wali Muhammad Shah, said that events like these offer a platform for open and honest discussions and the ways and means to tackle the growing corrupt practices in the society.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Dean DSW, Dr. Irfan Aalam, said the university is organizing several activities during the week to inform the students and the staff about the ill-effects of the corruption. He said that to ensure transparency in the functioning of the government offices, the citizenry have to play a huge role and highlight the wrongdoings.