STATE TIMES NEWS
KUPWARA: Observing that Jammu and Kashmir is the new success story in the country today, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said that overall economic growth is demonstrating resilience and strength and scripting considerable achievement in every sector, bringing improvement in the lives of the people to build a strong Union Territory,” the Lt Governor said. “After decades of neglect, Kupwara and many other districts are now connected to mainstream of development and witnessing growth of a vibrant and inclusive economy”, Lt Governor said after inaugurating multiple development projects worth more than Rs. 26 Crores at Kupwara.
Sinha directs officials to spend night at border villages for ground assessment of challenges, opportunities
KUPWARA: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday chaired a meeting to review the progress of the initiatives of the government and the development works at Kupwara district.
The Lt Governor directed the senior officials to visit border villages and stay overnight for a ground assessment of challenges and opportunities and plan activities, programmes and innovative measures for main streaming of villages.
Concerted and coordinated action should be ensured by all the departments for inclusive development, he said.
The Lt Governor appraised the sector-wise performance of the saturation of the government schemes and also reviewed the winter preparedness of the District Administration and department-wise action plan.
He directed the officers to take concrete measures to increase the female literacy rate and ensure no child is deprived of education. He further directed for proper rationalization of the teachers and utilization of manpower in education sector.
Reviewing the health sector, the Lt Governor directed for identifying the gaps in extension of health services and to take corrective measures. Special camps should be organized for saturation of Golden cards and provision of online consultation of medical services must be made available wherever required, he said.
The Lt Governor directed Chief Engineer PWD to prepare SoPs for snow clearance and to ensure round-the-clock connectivity during the winters. He also enquired about road maintenance and safety analysis of bridges.
Emphasizing on meeting the power supply needs of the people, the Lt Governor directed the concerned officials for maintaining proper stock of transformers. He directed that damaged transformers should be replaced within 12 and 24 hours in urban and rural areas respectively.
Taking stock of the status of infrastructure projects, the Lt Governor asked the concerned officials to ensure time-bound completion of the projects, speeding up the execution of Transit accommodation.
He also directed the District officers for effective implementation of Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) in the district.
The Lt Governor also appraised the status of ongoing projects under Jal Jeevan Mission; road connectivity; PM KISAN; sanitation campaigns; Samridh Seema Yojana, NCD screening, public outreach programmes, extension of financial assistance and saturation of deliverables by different departments.
The meeting was attended by Irfan Sultan Panditpori, Chairman, DDC Kupwara; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Dr Mandeep Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Dr Piyush Singla, Secretary Revenue; Ayushi Sudan, Deputy Commissioner Kupwara; HoDs and senior officials.
He added that various initiatives and a holistic approach in implementation are fulfilling the needs of deprived section of society. Addressing a public function at Boys Higher Secondary School, the Lt Governor shared the phenomenal developmental journey of Kupwara district over the last three years. He said the border district has embarked on a significant capacity building in infrastructure sector. The projects inaugurated today are the reflective of government’s commitment to provide better quality of life to the people of Kupwara, he added. In the current FY, J&K administration is targeting to complete 3241 works to ensure future growth and progress of all areas, he added. Highlighting the efforts of the government to accelerate the pace of development in the district, the Lt Governor said the 20 major infrastructural projects worth more than Rs 3144 Cr are under execution in Kupwara, which will be the key to future growth, bring prosperity to the population in rural and urban areas and expand the base of local market and promote entrepreneurship.
In the last Financial Year, 2444 development works were completed, and the first ever grid connectivity for Keran and Machil in 73 years was provided during 2021-22 enabling 19 Panchayats close to LoC to chart new pathways of progress and prosperity to secure their future as well as that of future generations, he added.
The Lt Governor reiterated the resolve of the UT Administration to tap the huge tourism potential of Kupwara.
“We have given a big boost to tourism sector to transform socio-economic condition of the people of this beautiful region and to provide expanded opportunities to youth,” he said.
The Lt Governor called upon PRI representatives to motivate farmers and connect them with PM Fasal Bima Yojana and other agriculture-related schemes. He further stressed on Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) in the district to facilitate the creation of Farmer Producer Organizations.
It should be the collective endeavour to ensure that at least 6000 youth are engaged with self-employment ventures this year and start their entrepreneurial journey, he said.
Responding to the demands projected by the PRI representatives, the Lt Governor assured that every possible step will be taken to strengthen the mobile connectivity and augment sports facilities in the district.
He further called upon the citizens to discharge their responsibility towards the government by paying for the services. Capable people should pay their power bills then only the government can waive off the bills of the poor, he said.
Irfan Sultan Panditpori, Chairman, District Development Council Kupwara and other PRI and ULB representatives expressed their gratitude to the Lt Governor-led UT Administration for addressing the development needs of the people of Kupwara.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary reiterated the commitment of the administration to tap the potential of the district across the sectors.
The projects worth Rs 26.84 crores inaugurated by the Lt Governor include construction of NTPHC at Nowgam, Langate; construction/ upgradation of Dhani Tadd upto Prada Pandov road at Tangdar; upgradation of 5-km road from Pandithpora Langate via Al Maqsood Colony Hajan; construction of 08 roomed building at HSS Warnow Lolab and Water Supply Schemes at Machil, Athrota and Tangdar. Vijay Kumar, ADGP Kashmir; Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Dr. Piyush Singla, Secretary Revenue; Ayushi Sudan, Deputy Commissioner Kupwara; Riyaz Mir, President Municipal Council Kupwara; members of PRIs and ULBs; senior officials and people in large number were present.