STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday said adequate arrangements have been made for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra as the administration was expecting a heavy footfall of the pilgrims.
He was speaking in this month’s Awaam Ki Awaaz’ programme wherein he also urged people to practice yoga for their holistic well-being and deepen a sense of connection between inner consciousness and the external world.
The holy yatra of Shri Amarnath Ji is commencing on June 30. The administration and the people of J-K are all set to welcome the devotees of Shri Amarnath Ji coming from across the country and abroad. Expecting a heavy footfall of yatris, adequate arrangements have been made this year, the Lt Governor said.
As a run-up to the upcoming International Day of Yoga on June 21 to be observed on the theme Yoga for Humanity’, the administration is conducting various awareness programmes to maximise the participation in yoga-related activities, he said.
Yoga is a rare scientific method that improves physical and mental strength, creates a crystallised center in the individual, helps in managing stress and promotes self-care, Sinha said.
He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for working tirelessly to make yoga an integral part of people’s lives.
Sinha also appreciated organisations and individuals for their active involvement in promoting yoga among the people in J&K.
The Lt Governor mentioned about Mohammad Tahir of Zakura Hazratbal, Srinagar, who is organizing free yoga training camps throughout the year in different districts of J&K.
Similarly, Shabir Ahmed Dar of Srinagar has been organising special yoga therapy camps since 2009 through his organisation Yoga Society of Kashmir, he added.
Sinha also enlisted the initiatives taken by the administration to establish yoga centres in the UT for promoting natural and healthy practices among the people.
This year, under the Fit India Movement, the Department of School Education is also celebrating Yoga Day on a large scale, he said.
The administration’s endeavour to ensure effective implementation of ‘One District One Product’ scheme across J-K remained another area of focus in this 15th edition of Awaam ki Awaaz’ programme, Sinha said.
Under the guidance of the prime minister, we are developing the potential of the districts as an export hub and changing their economic landscape, he said.
People associated with products like walnut, olive, lemon grass, etc can take advantage of this scheme by meeting the officers in the respective selected district. The Central Government is providing 35 per cent subsidy on the unit concerned and through this marketing platform will also be provided for these products, he added. The Lt Governor made a special mention of Javed Ahmed of Zainakote who is mobilizing people to clean Hokersar wetland and nurses the dream of wetland restoration that could rejuvenate the ecosystem.
Abdul Samad, a nonagenarian from the Kehnusa of Bandipora, deserves credit for keeping the traditional art of making paddy straw slippers (pulhor) alive. On account of their environmental, cultural and economic value, these products are silently finding takers in the present times, said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor called upon the enterprising women folks of J&K to draw inspiration from Preeti Chib of village Akalpur Jammu who has become a household name by sheer hard work and ingenuity. Her flourishing brand called the ‘Preeti Mushrooms’ has become synonymous with self-reliance, gender equality and women empowerment, he added.
The Lt Governor shared the suggestion of Shubham Gupta from Rajouri on making public equal stakeholders in the process of ‘identification, strengthening and promotion of the spiritual circuits’ in Jammu Kashmir. He also shares a detailed roadmap that focuses on Security, Policy, Responsibility, Accessibility, Youth and Yoga.
Referring to the insight received from Udhampur’s Puneet Sharma on a series of steps for nurturing the ‘innovation quotient’ amongst the youth by means of organizing hackathons, the Lt Governor observed that in the era of the rapid progress of technology, it is necessary to encourage smart and innovative ideas to build knowledge economy.
I am proud to share with all the listeners that six students of IIT Jammu have won the Smart India Hackathon, added the Lt Governor.
On Nidhi Goel’s suggestion on adopting an innovative model of ‘Zero tolerance against waste’, the Lt Governor urged all the citizens to perform their civic duty with the spirit of public participation to keep the cities clean. This disciplinarian approach aims to bring behavioral changes, prerequisite for transforming a city into a smart city, he added.
The Lt Governor also shared suggestions received from Srinagar’s Shilpi Bhat, Mehreen Altaf, Athar Khan and Baramulla’s Muzaffar Dar pertaining to the online content pool for students and academicians, rethinking of public transportation for women & introducing ‘ladies special pink buses’ on the busy district roads, performance audit on the services of BSNL and making automatic fitness test kits mandatory in buses and trucks.
