Excelsior Correspondent
RANSOO (REASI), Feb 13: On the occasion of “Shivratri” today, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also the Lok Sabha MP from here, announced Rs.1.2 crore from MP Fund (MPLAD) and other sources for various development works in Ransoo, where the holy shrine of Shiv Khori is located.
Dr Jitendra Singh was addressing a meeting of public representatives and State Administration after participating in the Shivratri procession which marched through the main streets of the Ransoo market.
Out of Rs.1.2 crore announced by him, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Rs.60 lakh will be spent on a Community Toilet Complex, which according to him, was a dire need, because of thousands of pilgrims visiting the Shiv Khori shrine, around which dozens of “Langars” are hosted, but there is very little public toilet facility.
Another Rs.40 lakh, he said, would be spent on building a “Yatri Niwas” to provide cost-effective lodging and boarding facility for the visitors. In addition, he said, he had earmarked Rs.20 lakh, out of which Rs.10 lakh he would arrange immediately for installing tube wells, in response to a public demand.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that in the last 3 to 4 years, the far-flung districts like Reasi had received the attention that was not given in the earlier decades.
Many of the tasks and projects achieved in the last 3 to 4 years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, have been possible because we have given highest priority to the far-flung areas and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is always responsive to our sensitivities. In this regard, he cited the example of four-times hike in the monthly honorarium of terrorism effected migrants from Talwara, for which the proposal was presented and passed at a meeting of the Union Cabinet.
Reasi is the only district other than Kathua, Dr Jitendra Singh said, which has been elaborately referred by PM Modi in his popular monthly radio broadcast “Mann Ki Baat”. While Reasi block was the first officially declared “ODF” block in the State, the Katra town was included in the list of “100 Icon Towns” under “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”.
As for connectivity, Dr Jitendra Singh said, tenders have been floated for construction of local Tanda-Ransoo road at a cost of Rs. 90 lakh. For PMGSY roads, while the State of J&K was given highest – ever package of Rs 2400 crore, nearly half of it has been allocated for Udhampur-Kathua-Doda constituency and out of that, Reasi and Udhampur have received maximum after Kathua.
Responding to a demand for extending the railway line to Shiv Khori, Dr Jitendra Singh said, he would discuss the feasibility of this suggestion, but added that the world’s highest Railway Bridge, which is even higher than the world famous Eiffel Tower, is also coming in district Reasi. He suggested to Tourism Minister Priya Sethi to highlight this spot as a tourist point.
Dr Jitendra Singh also referred to the State’s only “War Memorial” dedicated to commemorate Golden Jubilee of the 1965 War which was set up from his MP fund, near the DC office complex in Reasi. He said, the survey is already in process for construction of Katra-Delhi Express Road Corridor and once that becomes functional, the number of pilgrims and visitors to Shiv Khori and Vaishno Devi will increase manifold.
MoS Tourism Priya Sethi described the details of the proposed tourist circuit being worked out by the Government involving Ransoo, Shiv Khori and other neighboring points of interest. She also gave an update about the status of the proposed rope-way project in the area and the new terminal of Tourist Reception Centre.
MoS Ajay Nanda gave a detailed account of the development projects undertaken in the last 4 years.
Also present on the occasion were Divisional Commissioner Hemant Sharma, District Development Commissioner Prasanna Ramasamy, Senior Superintendent Police Tariq Bhat and others.
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