Chairing a high powered meeting of no fewer than seven ministers, political advisor to the Chief Minister and top echelons of bureaucracy, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was appraised of progress in a number of development projects underway for the city of Jammu. In fact, acute shortage of electric power and its consequential negative impact on water supply in the city especially in sweltering summer, had taxed the patience of the citizens of winter capital. Several demonstrations were also witnessed. Such a situation is usually embarrassing for the Government. The worse is that non-cooperative political opponents want to draw political mileage out of it. Before the situation would turn into law and order phenomenon, the Chief Minister has acted rightly and called a crucial meeting of all Government functionaries so that the progress made and progress pending, both situations are examined and assessed. Major services that have come under the scanner are power and water supply, food supplies, sewerage and drainage work, restoration of dismantled roads, seeds and fertilizers to farmers, besides a host of minor services.
Power supply, a major and crucial service, especially in view of hot summer in Jammu region, has been a casualty of large scale corruption and theft. No doubt, power supply scenario on national level is not at all promising, yet Jammu has been passing through very difficult and trying summer in this regard. We are not told what stringent measures the Government proposes to alleviate this discrepancy, yet reports are that the Chief Minister has sanctioned 2.23 crore rupees to improve distribution and transmission system. It is rather difficult to say what should the PDD be expected to improve with this paltry sum. Power Department of the State is the most secretive department which will not allow opening of than can of worms it carries. Though not of the same acuteness as power, yet water supply to all parts of the city and suburban areas is the second most disturbing service. Jammu city is partly perched on the hill called the old city, and partly has been expanding on plains. Water supply to the expanding city falls short of its needs. Urbanization has brought population pressure on the city and large number of jhuggi-jhomprhi habitats has come up. This human mass has a right to minimum necessities of life. Water, power and sanitation are among the minimum requirements. Let us hope that Chief Minister’s allocation of 3 crore rupees for improving water supply system, will bring relief to thousands of families whose water taps run dry.
Modernizing of city’s sewerage system has been carried out under a national scheme with Central funding source. In the first place, we are not aware of the criterion laid down by the State Government for identifying the areas where sewerage improvement is undertaken. Secondly, by and large, the scenario in the city is that while streets, lanes and by-lanes are dug out and broken for laying sewerage conduits, the roads are left unrepaired after the dugs ups are filled. This becomes obstruction to wheeled as well as pedestrian traffic. It speaks of no coordination among the agencies working with PWD. There has to be a system of immediate repair of roads wherever diggings are done for laying cables or making sewerage subterranean channels.
Any way, notwithstanding these observations and constructive suggestions, it is satisfying to note that a comprehensive and overall review of developmental work underway in Jammu city has been made by the concerned Government functionaries. We are told that the Divisional Commissioner of Jammu has made a power point presentation in the meeting to apprise the Chief Minister and his team of how an amount of 83 crore rupees has been spent on the development of Jammu so far. But it is also important to envision the needs of Jammu in next one or two decades and dovetail developmental roadmap accordingly. This year the number of yatris to Mata Vaishno Devi has crossed one crore and to the holy cave of Swami Amarnath is likely to touch 5 lakh. For this enormous human mass, Jammu city is the central terminus. Therefore it must have infrastructural capacity to meet the demand. Foremost is the question of massive enlargement and upgrading of Jammu Railway Station. The issue has been hanging fire for many years. Secondly, the Bhagwati Nagar 4th bridge construction must have four-lane connectivity with Talab Tiloo/Borhi sector if traffic bottleneck at Jewel Chowk and Canal Road link is to be reduced. Jammu city needs parks, parking slots, playing grounds, community halls and many more civic amenities if we aspire to upgrade it to Class A city.
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