‘Devika Project to reflect our collective pride, faith’
Avtar Bhat
UDHAMPUR, June 12: Lambasting Congress, Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh today accused the party of facilitating Pak designs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to Excelsior on way to Udhampur, Dr Jitendra Singh said Congress leaders are in great desperation of being without power as they can go to any extent for regaining it and even compromise with unity and integrity of the nation.
When his attention was drawn towards statement of former Union Minister and senior party leader, Digvijay Singh, Dr Jitendra Singh said there is nothing new in it as this has been the mindset of the party since it came to power in 1947.
“Whenever Congress talks like this, it’s music to the ears of Islamabad and it ends up further perpetuating terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir and also encouraging the promoters of the 30-year-long nightmare of militancy”, he added.
The Union Minister further said “It’s also an indication of desperation prevailing in Congress party trying to seek to come back to power, at whatever cost it might be, even it amounts to usurping or questioning the unity and integrity of Mother India”.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the Congress can stoop to any level for the sake of power and its leaders can even compromise with the detractors of the nation which has now been proved.
During his visit to Devika later, he said that the River Devika National Project is going to reflect our collective pride and faith, and will be the first-of-its kind in North India. Therefore, he said, it is important that the concerned authorities executing the work should take all sections of society in confidence, regardless of ideology or political affiliation, so that when this project is accomplished, it is seen not only as a role model for similar other projects in other parts of the country but should also signify a sense of harmony and unity which river Devika has symbolised over the centuries.
He was accompanied by DDC Chairman Lal Chand Bhagat, District Development Commissioner, Indu Kanwal Chib, Municipal Chairman, Dr Yogeshwar Gupta, former Minister, Pawan Gupta, heads and senior officers of different engineering wings and executing agencies.
Dr Jitendra Singh reiterated that while there should not be any compromise in the quality of work, at the same time, there should be no hesitation to receive logical suggestions or inputs coming from any quarter. He said, he visualises the historic Devika Project not only as a project of faith but as a monument of consensus and conciliation.
Comparing it with the pioneer “Namami Gange” Project of the Central Government, the Minister complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sanctioning the Devika Project, which was formally launched by Modi during his visit to Jammu in early 2019. He said it is now the responsibility of all of them to accomplish this project with the same spirit and confidence with which it was cleared and sanctioned by the Modi Government.
Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that only last week he had conducted a thorough review of the project through a virtual meeting, which was also attended by Chief Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta and Principal Secretary, Urban Development, Dheeraj Gupta. He had emphasised on increasing the pace of work to make up for the time lapse on account of COVID pandemic and had also stressed the importance of optimum coordination between the Contractor agency and the Engineering wings. He had, in that meeting, stressed the importance of monitoring the project on a regular basis and his visit to the site today was also meant to underline this.
At the site, Dr Jitendra Singh was updated about the current status of the work. He was also informed that alleged lack of cooperation from the contractor agency reported earlier has been sought to be corrected by imposing a fine on the contractor, who had now given assurance that there would be no laxity hereafter.
Under the Centrally funded Rs 190 crore National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) Devika Project, bathing “ghats” (places) on the banks of the Devika river will be developed, encroachments will be removed, natural water bodies will be restored and catchment areas will be developed along with cremation ground.
The project includes the construction of three sewage treatment plants of 8 MLD, 4 MLD and 1.6 MLD capacity, sewerage network of 129.27 km, development of two cremation ghats, protection fencing and landscaping, small hydropower plants and three solar power plants. On completion of the project, the rivers will see reduction in pollution and improvement in water quality.
The Devika river also holds great religious significance as it is revered by Hindus as the sister of river Ganga. In June last year, Dr Jitendra Singh had also inaugurated the important Devika bridge in Udhampur. Apart from taking care of traffic congestion, the Devika bridge was also meant to help smooth passage of Army convoys and vehicles.
At the same time, the accompanying officers also conveyed that as per the instructions of the Minister, a “Work Audit” was planned to ensure that there was no compromise on the quality of work.
Dr Jitendra Singh also visited the first Rs eight crore Oxygen Plant site in Udhampur town which was sanctioned with the intervention of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He said that the plant will be functional next week. Its civil work has been completed and in the next phase the plant will be set up, he added.
He said Rs 2.5 crore has been sanctioned for COVID facilities from his MP Fund and a part of the same has been spent on Telemedicines and first ever Telemedicine unit funded from MP Fund has become functional in Udhampur district Hospital. It is also catering to Primary Health Centers and providing consultancy with professional medical experts, he added.
On the occasion he was accompanied by DC Udhampur, Indu Kanwal Chib, CMO Udhampur and Nodal Officer of District Udhampur, Dr Ashwani Manhas.
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