STATE TIMES NEWS

Jammu: A multi-tier security setup has been put in place and traffic advisories issued for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jammu on Tuesday, officials on Monday said.
Modi is scheduled to address a public rally at Maulana Azad Stadium in the heart of winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir during his visit on February 20, they said.
The officials said the prime minister will also launch multiple development projects, including for education, railway, aviation and road sectors, worth Rs 30,500 crore.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), he will also distribute appointment letters to about 1,500 newly recruited government employees of Jammu and Kashmir and interact with beneficiaries of various schemes as part of the ‘Viksit Bharat, Viksit Jammu’ programme.
“A multi-tier security setup has been put in place across Jammu for the Prime Minister’s visit to the city of temples. The major focus of heightened security arrangements remains the venue of his public meeting and adjoining areas,” a senior police officer told PTI.
He said that a high alert had been sounded along the borders, while the border and highway grids were further strengthened with the officers asked to intensify patrolling and checking of vehicles to keep subversive elements at bay. The officials said the Maulana Azad Stadium has been taken over by the security agencies who conducted a thorough anti-sabotage check.
On February 17, Jammu District Magistrate Sachin Kumar Vaishya announced a temporary ban on the use of drones, paragliders and remote controlled micro-light aircrafts as a precautionary measure to counter possible activities by the terrorists and anti-national elements.
The order was issued under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code while responding to intelligence reports highlighting potential security threats.
“Effective immediately and continuing until February 20, the order imposes restrictions on the operation of drones, remote-controlled micro-light aircrafts, para-gliders, para-motors, hand gliders and hot air balloons within the (Jammu) district,” the order said.
However, the order said exceptions to the ban include aerial surveillance conducted by the security forces during the VVIP visits or with specific written permission from the district magistrate’s office.
“Defence and Para Military Forces are exempted from these restrictions. Violation of this order is subject to punitive action under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code,” the order read.
Given the prediction of isolated to widespread rains in Jammu for the next 24 hours, a BJP spokesperson said that necessary arrangements, including waterproof tents, have been erected to accommodate one lakh people who are expected to turn up for the rally from across Jammu and Kashmir.
Almost all prominent BJP leaders, including J&K unit president Ravinder Raina, have been making appeals to the people to join the rally, which is seen as a formal launch of the party’s campaign for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department has predicted continuation of wet weather for the next three days.
Meteorological department officer in-charge S C Sharma said did not rule out rains welcoming Prime Minister Modi in Jammu.
“There is prediction of widespread rains at most places in Jammu plains for the next 24 hours followed by isolated rains on February 21 and 22 and February 24 and 25,” Sharma told PTI.
Most places in Jammu and Kashmir have presently been experiencing wet weather since February 18.
While the higher reaches are experiencing snowfall, the plains, including Jammu city, were lashed by intermittent rains for the second day on Monday.
A traffic department official said that a dry run was carried out this afternoon from the airport to Maulana Azad road as restrictions and diversions have been placed on the ground to ensure smooth flow of traffic in the city.
The officials said a total of 48 locations have been identified for the parking of the vehicles carrying people from different parts of the Union Territory to the venue of Modi’s public rally.
The headquarters central pool security, Jammu, has also issued a detailed advisory for the general public participating in the public rally, asking them not to carry any bag, tiffin boxes, cameras, weapon, ammunition, sharp edged articles, cigarettes, lighters, umbrellas, any objectionable flag or any electronic gadgets among others. The mobile phones should be kept in switched off or silent mode, the advisory said and asked the participants to ensure their entry in the venue before 9.30 am and cooperate during frisking.

PM to inaugurate 6 AIIMS in next six days

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate six new AIIMS, including the ones in Samba in Jammu and Kashmir and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, in the next six days, officials said on Monday.
He will dedicate to the nation the AIIMS in Samba district at an event in Jammu on Tuesday and five others in Rajkot, Mangalagiri, Bathinda, Rae Bareli and Kalyani at a programme in Rajkot in Gujarat on February 25.
The AIIMS Jammu, the foundation of which was laid by Prime Minister Modi in February 2019, is being established under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. Established at a cost of more than Rs 1,660 crore and in an area spanning over 227 acres, the hospital is equipped with facilities such as 720 beds, medical college with 125 seats, nursing college with 60 seats, AYUSH block with 30 beds, residential accommodation for faculty and staff, hostel accommodation for undergraduate and postgraduate students, night shelter, guest house, auditorium, shopping complex, etc.
He will also inaugurate various medical colleges and nursing colleges across the country. He will lay the foundation of many new medical colleges and various advanced health facilities, including critical care blocks and integrated public health labs, under the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.
He will also dedicate to the nation advanced research labs and facilities of ICMR and various National Health Mission (NHM) projects.
To ensure the safety and quality of food consumed by millions of Indians, Modi will inaugurate advanced food safety infrastructure projects and facilities in multiple states. All these health projects with a total cost of Rs 11,391.79 crore will bring a wave of healthcare advancements and transform India’s healthcare landscape, officials said. The projects will ensure quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all along with expanding medical education in the country.
The new medical and nursing colleges will nurture the next generations of doctors and healthcare professionals in the country. For a nation to truly progress, its citizens must be healthy, both physically and mentally, they said.
The new healthcare infrastructure projects and facilities will propel India towards a healthier, happier, and prosperous tomorrow.
Officials said that during the UPA, the Ministry of Health had a budget allocation of Rs 37,330 crore in 2013-14 while under the NDA, it increased to Rs 90,658.63 crore in 2024-25, marking a substantial rise of approximately 143 per cent.

Govt helping farmers to take agriculture on a new path: Modi

Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that his government was helping farmers to take agriculture on a new path, and laid focus on natural farming and millets.
Addressing an event in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, the prime minister emphasized the importance of working towards a common goal of having Indian food products on dining tables across the globe.
His remarks came amid a protest by a section of farmers over their various demands such as a legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops.
“We are assisting and encouraging farmers to take our country’s agriculture on a new path,” he said.
He emphasised the focus on natural farming and millets. “This is the right time for investment in superfoods like millets,” he said.
He cited the emergence of large-scale natural farming along the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, which not only benefits farmers but also helps preserve the purity of sacred rivers. The prime minister appealed to food processing entrepreneurs to prioritise the mantra of “zero effect, zero defect” in their endeavours.
He highlighted the success stories of products such as Siddharth Nagar’s kalanamak rice and Chandauli’s black rice, which are now being exported in significant quantities, and pitched for collective efforts to take Indian food items to people across the world.
The prime minister encouraged entrepreneurs to form partnerships with farmers, underscoring the government’s efforts in empowering small-scale farmers through farmer producer organisations and cooperative societies, which present opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships.
“Benefit to farmers and agriculture is good for your business too,” Modi told the investors. He also referred to the Bharat Ratna award to former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
“Just a few days ago, our government had the privilege of awarding Bharat Ratna to the messiah of farmers, Chaudhary Charan Singh,” he said.
The award to Singh, the son of the soil of Uttar Pradesh, is an honour for crores of labourers and crores of farmers of the country as well, he added.
On Uttar Pradesh’s pivotal role in driving the rural economy and agriculture-based economy of India, the prime minister called upon stakeholders to maximize the benefits of this opportunity.
He expressed confidence in the capabilities of the people of Uttar Pradesh and the efforts of the “double-engine government” in laying the foundation for the state’s and the nation’s progress.
Modi launched 14,000 projects across Uttar Pradesh worth more than Rs 10 lakh crore at the fourth ground-breaking ceremony here on Monday for investment proposals received during the UP Global Investors Summit.
The projects relate to sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, food processing, housing and real estate, hospitality and entertainment, and education.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and several industrialists and representatives of top global and Indian companies attended the event.
Modi’s remarks on agriculture and rural economy came amid a protest by a section of farmers over their various demands.
Farmers from Punjab began their march to Delhi on February 13 but were stopped by security personnel at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab’s border with Haryana. Thousands of protesting farmers have been camping at the Punjab-Haryana border since as part of their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march.
Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the protesting farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, and reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013.