CUJ teacher bags Rs 31 lakh project to raise consumer awareness in J&K

For 31-year old Gowhar Rasool, a teacher in the School of Business Administration in Central University Jammu (CUJ), it is a dream project he has been conceptualizing for over two years now.

The Rs 31 lakh research project from the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, titled "Field Mapping and Capacity Building of Stakeholders for Consumer Welfare & Protection" is the the first such to be approved for Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking exclusively to IANS here, Gowhar Rasool, who belongs to Srinagar's Nishat locality, said: "The objective of the project is to promote consumer welfare and consumer rights in the three divisions of J&K."

"We plan to start the project in the Jammu division. We will hold a two-day national seminar followed by a two-day capacity-building workshop.

"The activity will be repeated in the Valley and the Ladakh division. The seminar theme will, of course, be different for the three divisions.

"The focus of the project is to build capacity and awareness among the marginal sections of the society, especially the underprivileged, rural, SC, ST and OBE sections.

"It is a one-year project and we hope to complete it by March 2020," Gowhar said.

He said he has been working on the concept for over two years.

"We submitted the project in 2017. There were two presentations in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the project was approved after detailed deliberations.

"We expect to receive the funds from the ministry before the end of this fiscal (March 31)", he said, adding that he is the sole director of the project.

Gowhar obtained a doctorate from Awantipora University of Science and Technology in the Valley after which he was appointed an assistant professor in the School of Business administration in CUJ.

CUJ Vice Chancellor Ashok Aima told IANS: "I wish him well and expect more of our faculty members to get similar projects with national and international themes".

The Vice Chancellor himself has a business administration background as he headed the department in Jammu university before being elevated to his present post.

(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in)

--IANS

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