Old Jammu city to be developed as heritage hub: DyCM

Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh addressing a gathering on Tuesday.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh addressing a gathering on Tuesday.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 4: Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh today said the Navratra celebrations remind us of the existing bonds of brotherhood, harmony and also urge us to ensure their consolidation for taking forward the values of humanism and oneness.
The Deputy Chief Minister was speaking at a function organized by the Traders Federation of the Warehouse Jammu in connection with the celebrations of the Navratras here today.
Senior BJP leader and MLA East Rajesh Gupta, IGP Jammu, S D Singh Jamwal, DIG Jammu, Ashkoor Wani, Mahant Rameshwar Dass, Rajesh Gupta, President Traders Federation Warehouse, other office bearers of the Federation, Rajesh Gupta, Chairman Jammu Chamber of Industries, senior BJP leader Ashwani Sharma, businessmen, prominent citizens and people from different walks of life were present on the occasion.
Terming the Warehouse as the nerve centre of Jammu’s economic activities, the Deputy Chief Minister said it would soon be given a holistic makeover so that the problems and other related issues being faced by the trading community are redressed. He said this would ensure that the augmentation of the already existing infra is done besides providing with all the modern facilities which would boost trade related activities in the area.
Referring to the major initiatives taken for developing the Jammu city, the Deputy Chief Minister said Rs 200 crore have been earmarked for the construction of the prestigious multi-storey parking facility at B C Road to ease out the traffic congestion in the area, besides providing parking facility to the people living in the catchment areas. Moreover, two similar kinds of parking projects are underway at Super Bazaar and Panjthirthi. He said that the old city Jammu would be developed on the heritage pattern so that the local architectural patterns and other related things are conserved.
“Work on the prestigious Tawi River Front Development Project is also being fast-paced so that it gets completed within the stipulated time frame and comes up as a major tourist attraction in the city, besides, the Maharaja Hari Singh Park is also coming up beautifully which would be having the requisite recreational facilities besides, the provision of having reading rooms, book shops and other related facilities”, the Deputy Chief Minister said and added in tourism sector Rs 280 crore have already been allocated to promote the tourism in the region which also includes Rs 150 crore project for cable car on PPP mode at Patnitop and Rs 60 crore for Jammu Cable Car projects.
“Renovation of the historic Mubarak Mandi which would also come up as one of the major tourist attractions in the Jammu city is also underway,” Dr Singh added.
The Deputy Chief Minister later visited Lakhri in Billawar area of district Kathua and attended the Shrimahd Bhagwat Sapath and paid obeisance there besides meeting Sant Subash Shastri.
On the occasion, the Deputy Chief Minister also announced that the Detailed Project Report of the highway between Dyalachak and Shahla coming up with an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore is being prepared for increasing the connectivity of the area.