STATE TIMES NEWS
BHADARWAH: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that Bhaderwah is the potential destination of Agri-tech StartUps.
Addressing an impressive public rally after Inaugurating the country’s first ‘Lavender Festival’ here, the Union Minister described Bhaderwah as the birthplace of India’s Purple Revolution.
Dr. Jitendra said that the country’s first lavender festival in Bhaderwah has been possible today only by the progressive thinking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who after taking the oath as PM in 2014 stressed that the regions which have been disconnected from the mainstream India must be connected to the mainstream through development.
Today’s Lavender Festival in the valley of Bhaderwah is the best example of development of present progressive government at the centre which should have been celebrated much earlier, Bhaderwah being the best place for lavender cultivation in terms of land and climate, he added.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also said that the development prospects of PM Modi led government for the far-flung areas like Bhaderwah can also be judged from the fact that the country’s first National Institute of High Altitude Medicine is being built in Bhaderwah which will attract scholars and researchers not only from India but across the globe generating employment opportunities for the region. The establishment of this institute is a proof of developmental initiatives reaching far flung places at an unprecedented rate compared to the last seventy years, Dr. Singh added.
The Minister said that the medical college at Doda and other distant places in J&K was not the priority of previous governments which shows that this government is leaving no stone unturned to take development to the farthest corners of the country. About the development of roads in Doda and Bhaderwah, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the connectivity to Doda and Bhaderwah earlier through roads was unsuitable due to the threat of landslides especially during rains. But, the construction of roads and tunnels have made the distance easier now, Dr. Singh maintained.
The Minister said that the Bhaderwah-Bani-Basohli Highway, Chattergala Tunnel under Bharatmala, Khilani-Marmat-Sudhmahadev Road connecting Hambal and Kalota, Bhaderwah-Chamba Highway & tunnel, the all weather roads being constructed will open new vistas of development for this region. Dr. Singh also inaugurated six distillation units under CSIR-IIIM for lavender situated at six different places. Three MoUs were also signed between CSIR-IIIM Jammu with Agro Voltic Power, Mussoorie Uttarakhand, Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar Punjab and Fine Fragrance Power Limited, Mumbai.
