NEW DELHI: A delegation of the Leh unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by its President Tsewang Gonbo, called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh here and discussed a wide range of issues related to various projects in the region as well as political and organizational matters pertaining to Leh.
Dr Jitendra told the delegation that the Modi Government accords highest priority to remote and peripheral parts of the country whether it is Ladakh, Northeast or island territories.
He said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself takes a personal interest and follow-up of various projects in these parts of the country.
Dr Singh also informed the members of delegation that the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari has taken up the project of Zojila Tunnel on priority basis and in spite of several constraints, the work on the project is expected to start in near future.
Similarly, the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) is constantly working out means of providing all-weather connectivity to the region. In the context of another issue, Dr Jitendra disclosed to the delegation members that last year, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had taken up with the UPSC the possibility of having a center for IAS/Civil Services exam at Leh but, due to some logistic constraints, this could not be accomplished.
However, the government is keen to provide all facility to the youth of the region to avail of the same opportunities as available to the youth in the rest of the country, he said.
The issue of air-connectivity also came up and Dr Jitendra said that he has taken up with the union Ministry of Aviation, the feasibility of more frequent air flights between Leh and other destinations.
He recalled that last month, when a large number of passengers had got stranded at Leh on account of disruption in flights and National Highway, he received a phone call from the local MLA Nawang Rigzin Jora, following which he took up the matter with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, who promptly arranged an additional air flight. The members of delegation presented a memorandum to Dr Jitendra listing out various pending demands of the region.
They were, however, satisfied to convey that, in the last two to three years, the region had received greater attention from the government, in contrast to gross discrimination being faced in the earlier years.