Jammu group demands statehood

"After the announcement of Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh, we feel that it is high time that Jammu and Kashmir too is reorganized, and separate statehood status is  conferred on the Jammu region," JSM chairman Virender Gupta told reporters here on Saturday.

"This is a must, because there is nothing common - neither geography, language or culture - in the three regions of the state," Gupta said.

He was referring to the distinct features of Jammu and Kashmir - Buddhist-dominated Ladakh that is mostly desert and mountain terrain, the Muslim-dominated Valley that is a combination of plains and hills and Jammu the region, where the plains and the hills have a variety of populations of different religions and ethnicities and linguistic identifies, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Kashmiri Pandits.

Gupta said before their demand takes "a new twist or turn", the central government should "wake up to the ground realities and requirements of the people and announce a separate state for Jammu region".