STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Union MoS (Independent Charge) Coal, Power, New and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goel, while addressing a seminar titled Trade and Industrial development in J and K, described his firsthand account that the empathy Prime Minister Narendra Modi has for the J and K State and its residents when he was accompanying him to J and K on two previous occasions. Modi has visited this State five times during his short six months’ period as Prime Minister which goes to show his concern. He said that trade and industry are the back bone of any region which generates wealth, sustains the public and provides employment. Without a flourishing and vibrant trade and industry the State will be mired in poverty, deprivation and unemployment. He also commented that if all the money that the Central government has pumped into the State had been prudently and well spent, the State would have been prosperous and without unemployment. He also expressed his dream to see the pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi develop into a tourist pilgrimage circuit with many connected destinations like Patnitop, Bhadarwah, Kishtwar, Doda, Poonch, Rajouri and Mughal Road, which would change the face of the entire region. He also said that this State has enormous scope for the development of food processing industry and for which he is working at the Central Government level. There is also scope for horticulture and floriculture. The government should work for creation of infrastructure and be development facilitator which would enable the local entrepreneurship to flourish, prosper and achieve its potential.
The quick and transparent decision making is the hallmark of Modi Government at the Centre and at his visit to Valley in August, he had a long discussion with the local officials of the power department and as a result the hurdle in the construction of Pakul Dam was resolved within few days and process for its execution will be under way after elections are over. It is the cherished goal of Narendra Modi government to see that people of this State have power 24×7 and there is no reason why this cannot be achieved. This State has power potential of 20,000 Megawatts and which would be cheapest. There is need to renovate and upgrade the power distribution system of the State to prevent transmission losses and power theft. The BJP government at the Centre would strive for establishment of dry port, i.e. trade facilitation centre. He appealed to the participants to help Modi Government in ensuring the establishment of these dreams projects by seeing to it that BJP forms government in the State also. A BJP government in the State would be great facilitator for the extension of benevolence of the Modi Government.
At the conclusion of Piyush Goel’s address, he solicited questions from the audience and assured that he would definitely work on their suggestions for the betterment of the industrial climate and the industry in the State. In this regard, he said that he agrees with the desirability of establishing large scale mother industrial enterprise in the State which would create a large number of ancillaries and would act as a growth engine for the entire State. Apart from this he said that his ministry has committed itself to provide separate toilets for girls and boys in all the schools of the State by next summer and has also started the process of adopting ITI’s in the State to upgrade the quality of the talent impart in these institutions.
State Vice President Col. Uttam Singh, State Spokesperson Sunil Sethi (Advocate) and BJP JK Cell State Convener S.S Bijral also shared the dais with Piyush Goel.