Modi to give job letters, sound BJP’s poll bugle
Train to start chugging up to Sangaldan from Baramulla
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Feb 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate major projects, lay foundation stone of many others, totalling Rs 3161 cr, deliver virtually job letters to youth, interact with people across the UT and formally launch the BJP’s election campaign for Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir which has five Lok Sabha seats and the party this time is eyeing three as against two won by it in 2014 and 2019.
It will be a nearly two-hour long programme of the Prime Minister and will be confined to MA Stadium in heart of the City where at least one lakh people are expected to gather to listen to him. There is special enthusiasm among Paharis and three other tribes who have been granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who were given representation in Panchayats and Municipalities and Valmikis who were included in Scheduled Castes category in just ended budget session of the Parliament after a long wait of several decades, besides the locals of the region, for the PM’s rally.
Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will accoompany the PM among others.
The Prime Minister’s tour will be confined to MA Stadium only from where he will inaugurate and lay foundation stone of multiple projects virtually, interact with the people via video conferencing, deliver job letters to youth of the UT and address a massive rally signalling the launch of BJP’s campaign for Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, the train will start running 48.5 kilometres ahead of Banihal from Baramulla after being inaugurated virtually by the Prime Minister if the final clearance is given on last trial expected to be undertaken on February 16.
Officials, however, told the Excelsior that everything is clear and the train will start moving from Baramulla to Sangaldan instead of present Baramulla to Banihal covering an additional distance of 48.5 kilometres and benefitting the people of Khari, Sangaldan, Gool, Arnas, Mahore etc.
In second phase, they said, the train is expected to reach Reasi in May-June followed by Katra few months later, when Kashmir will be linked with rest of the country by rail completely.
If Commissioner Railway Safety gives nod on February 16, which is almost expected, the train will be flagged off up to Sangaldan by the Prime Minister. This will be followed by regular movement of trains between Baramulla and Sangaldan, the officials said.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate multiple projects running into thousands of crores including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Vijaypur in Samba district, highest railway bridge in Reasi district, Devika Rejuvenation project, Shahpur Kandi project, IIM Jammu, several major roads and projects in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions, virtually from MA Stadium.
Among 209 projects, Modi will lay foundation stone of 124 and inaugurate 85 projects to the tune of Rs 3161 crores.
The projects whose foundation stone will be laid include nine Industrial Estates covering 2210 kanals, construction and up gradation of 62 road projects and 42 bridges, 2816 flats for Kashmiri migrants at nine places in Anantnag, Kulgam, Kupwara, Shopian and Pulwama, up gradation/revamping of Transport Nagar at Parimpora in Srinagar and Data Centre/Disaster Recovery Centre for Integrated Command and Control Centre for Jammu Smart City.
Eighty five projects which will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister are transit accommodation of 224 flats for Kashmiri migrants at Ganderbal and Kupwara, degree college buildings infrastructure at four places, Drug Testing Laboratory at Kathua, Grid Stations, Receiving Stations and Transmission Line projects in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions, 12 road projects and three bridges, modernization of Narwal Fruit Mandi, five Common Effluent Treatment Plants in Samba and Intelligent Traffic Management System in Srinagar City among others.
Modi will handover job letters to few youths while rest will get the letters virtually. A large number of youths recruited by the Jammu and Kashmir Government will get appointments letters from the Prime Minister.
“The projects whose foundation stone will be laid by Narendra Modi will give major boost to development of Jammu and Kashmir,” the sources said, adding he will also interact with the people via video conferencing.
The programmes will be followed by Narendra Modi’s address to a massive rally at MA Stadium which is expected to touch or even cross one lakh mark.
This will be Modi’s first rally after April 24, 2022 programme at Palli Panchayat in Samba district and will signal start of the BJP’s campaign for Lok Sabha elections.
Senior BJP leaders in Jammu and Kashmir under the leadership of UT chief Ravinder Raina have been mobilizing the people for the rally.
Sources said AIIMS at Vijaypur, which has been built on 226.84-acre land on both sides of NH-44 in Samba district, will start operations by opening OPD services in about 50 specialties. Announced in 2014 as part of his development package for J&K, the hospital’s foundation stone was laid by PM Modi on February 3, 2019.
The world’s highest 1.3 km-long rail bridge, located 359 meters above the Chenab river, is 35 m higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris and forms a crucial link in the 111 km Katra-Banihal stretch, which forms a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) Project.
The Rs 190-crore Devika river project in Udhampur is north India’s first river rejuvenation project on which work started in March 2019 under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). The project envisaged development of bathing ghats on both sides of the river, removal of encroachments, restoration of water bodies and development of catchment areas along with cremation ground, besides construction of three sewage plants, a 129.27-km-long sewage network, small hydro power plants and three solar power plants.
The sources said that Modi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir could boost BJP’s prospects in the Union Territory ahead of Lok Sabha election as the party is eyeing three seats out of five this time.
BJP for two consecutive terms in 2014 and 2019 won two Lok Sabha seats from Jammu region.
Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh won the Udhampur-Kathua seat and Jugal Kishore Sharma won Jammu-Poonch seat in the last two Lok Sabha polls.
The party this time is eyeing third seat Anantnag-Poonch-Rajouri which has a large number of Pahari votes to whom the Government accorded ST status in the just concluded Parliament session.
Meanwhile tight security is in place for the smooth conduct of the Prime Minister’s rally.
All vehicles passing nearby the venue-located in the heart of Jammu city-are being frisked and special check posts are installed along the River Tawi bank-adjacent to the M A Stadium.
“Security forces are on alert and are maintaining vigil around the venue while barricades are also erected and the entrants at the venue are being allowed to move only after complete frisking,” said a senior police official.
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