STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, on Thursday unfurled the National Flag to mark 74th Republic Day celebration at Sher-e-Kashmir (SK) Stadium.
He inspected the parade and took salute from the contingents of JKP, BSF, CRPF, JKAP, SSB, ITBP, IRP, Women contingent, Forest Protection Force and NCC.
Speaking on the occasion, Advisor Bhatnagar extended warm greetings to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as well as members of Armed Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Central and UT level police forces for their contribution in maintaining the security and integrity of our nation
Advisor, in his address, remarked that formation of the Republic on 26th January 1950 was the first milestone in our march towards realizing the dreams of our people in the aftermath of Independence. He said, “The Constitution gave expression to the goals, ideals and values that guided our freedom struggle and laid the foundations for the structure of governance and committed to secure for all citizens; justice, liberty and equality as well as dignity”.
Advisor observed that this day marks the celebration of empowerment of Indian citizens to select their own government. He added that this day reminds us about the duties of every citizen for propelling the growth of our nation.
Highlighting about the ongoing development process occurring across Jammu and Kashmir, Advisor Bhatnagar said that from past three years, J&K is witnessing a new dawn, a dawn which promises hope, a dawn which reflects prosperity, progress and development. He added that our UT is poised to become the latest success story among Indian states. He added that the government is committed to build a strong Jammu and Kashmir and continuing its march ahead with Mantra of 4 P’s – Peace, Progress, Prosperity and People first. He asserted that the present government is determined to ensure that every single citizen of UT enjoys prosperous and peaceful life.
Advisor Bhatnagar observed that J&K is predominantly an agrarian economy with 70% of its population dependent on agricultural activities. He added that the progress of Jammu and Kashmir is directly associated with the development of farmers.
Advisor further said that the welfare of farmers is close to the heart of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He highlighted that like other states across the country, the central government is focusing on developing agriculture sector in J&K.
Speaking on rapid industrial development, Advisor Bhatnagar said that the present LG led administration has also taken some reformative measures in industrial sector and for seamless establishment of business enterprises, various steps have been taken to minimize compliance burden for the investors while establishing business. “The J&K Single Window (Industrial Investment and Business Facilitation) Act 2018 has been made operational. Single Window Portal is the single point of contact for an investor for end to end facilitation of business establishment. More than 166 services made online and available on the Single Window Portal”, he said.
Advisor further said that several other reformative interventions have also been initiated for boosting Investments and till date J&K has received investment proposals of more than Rs 66000 crore, with a direct employment potential of more than 2.93 lakh. Besides domestic, marked interest has been shown by foreign investors in the region and recently an MoU with Government of Dubai has been entered into for making investment in the region.
With regard to empowerment of youth, Advisor remarked that present LG led administration is working tirelessly for catering the needs of youth of Jammu and Kashmir and several interventions have been made for channelizing the enormous potential of our youth and ensuring their participation in the process of governance. “4,500 youth clubs have been set up covering all Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies in the UT through which 63,000 youths have been connected. Playfields have been set up in 4000 Panchayats”, he said.
Advisor, on the occasion, also applauded J&K police, Central Paramilitary Forces and the brave soldiers of our military, who offer their ultimate sacrifices to ensure the integrity and security of our nation, and ensure that the citizens of the country live a peaceful and secure life.
On the occasion, colourful cultural programme was also presented by the artists of J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages in the form of traditional Rouf, Bandpather and Dambali which mesmerised the audiences.
Also, awards were presented to winners of Best March Past and Best cultural programme. The winners of online competition in the categories of Best Paintings, Best essay and Best seminars were also awarded on the occasion.
Mayor SMC, Junaid Azim Mattu; Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, P.K Pole; ADGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar; Administrative Secretaries, DC Srinagar, senior officers of police and civil administration, heads of various departments, government officials and large number of people and school children were present on the occasion.