CS reviews arrangements for I-Day

Chief Secretary chairing a meeting.
Chief Secretary chairing a meeting.

*JKPCC presents dividend cheque
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 27: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today chaired a high-level meeting of senior civil and security officers to review the final arrangements for the Independence Day 2023 at Civil Secretariat here.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Home, RK Goyal; Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor, Mandeep Kumar Bhandari; Administrative Secretaries of all Departments, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir/Jammu, ADGP Jammu/Kashmir, Director Information J&K, HoDs of various Departments, Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of all districts, senior officers of Army, CRPF and other security agencies as well as other concerned officers both in person and through video conferencing.
Addressing the officers, Dr. Mehta emphasized on the need for meticulous planning and coordination to ensure a seamless and befitting celebration, showcasing the nation’s pride and achievements.
While reviewing the preparedness of the main event to be held at Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium, the Chief Secretary directed the concerned officers to ensure fool proof security in-and-around the main venue.
Calling upon the officers to make the event a festive occasion, the Chief Secretary asked the officers that all Government offices, buildings, schools, colleges and universities should hoist the national flag on August 15 with proper flag code. He asked the DCs that similar kind of celebrations should be organised from in their respective districts. He also asked them to hoist flags near AmritSarovars constructed in different Panchayats.
The Chief Secretary directed the Commissioner Secretary Information Department that the recently inaugurated National Anthem Singing Competition should be organised in collaboration with the Education Department so that maximum students can participate in it.
Dr Mehta also directed all the officers that the Swachta campaigns should be organised in all Government offices. The Chief Secretary enjoined upon all DCs that taking selfie with ‘Mitti’ of the village or earthen ‘Diya’ in hand as well as ‘VasudhaVandan’ under which each Gram Panchayat will replenish mother earth by planting at least 75 plant saplings preferentially around the already established AmritSarovars, should be popularized in their districts so that maximum people participate.
Dr. Mehta also asked the officers that one person from each block of all districts being sent to New Delhi with its ‘Mitti’ for construction of the National Memorial at Kartavya Path should be selected well in advance and preference should be given to youth who have excelled in sports or have been National Awardees or State Awardees.
Dr. Mehta also asked all the officers that ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign should be held on massive scale and all the people should participate in this event quite enthusiastically. He also asked the security agencies to facilitate the movement of people on the day.
Meanwhile, Managing Director, J&K Cable Car Corporation (JKCCC) handed cheque worth Rs 1.0 Cr to Government through Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta.
The Chief Secretary took this occasion to compliment the Corporation for this milestone of achieving record revenue of Rs 100 Cr. He advised the Corporation to use this revenue in meeting aspirations of tourists besides maintaining its valuable assets.
He also asked them to look into establishing such other Gandola projects especially in PPP mode where there is high footfall of tourists like Gulmarg. He maintained that J&K has many other destinations like Sarthal, Mantalai, Sanasar, Doodhpathri, Bhaderwah and Baisaran (Pahalgam) etc which have tremendous potential in terms of establishing Gandola projects thereby promoting tourism there besides boosting profits of the Corporation simultaneously.