Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 17: On the last leg of extensive tour of flood-hit areas of Jammu region, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, MoS in PMO, DoPT,Atomic Energy and Space,today visited Kathua and Samba districts, where he was briefed by the two Deputy Commissioners Dr Shahid Iqbal and Mubarak Singh respectively..
Addressing a meeting of administration and citizens at the District Headquarters Kathua, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that unlike some other districts of the State, the damage suffered by Kathua on account of floods was relatively of smaller magnitude and more on account of infrastructural lapses. But if the infrastructural lapses which led to this damage could be corrected in the times to come, not only will the district be spared of damages occurring due to rains and monsoon, but this will also enable Kathua to develop as the industrial hub of Jammu and Kashmir,he added.
Responding to the observations made by the two Deputy Commissioners through power point presentations, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that sufficient funds have already been placed at the disposal of the District Administrations for flood relief and rehabilitation work and whatever more is required will immediately be provided.
Referring to the submersion of vast area of land near river Ujh and other places as also the erosion of the Mansar lakeside, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that he has already brought the issue to the notice of the Union Water Resources Minister, Uma Bharti, and she has promised to send a team of her Ministry in the next two weeks for assessment following which she herself will also be visiting the State.
Dr. Jitendra Singh observed that in the last three months, Kathua has received a number of laudable projects and initiatives, including the first-ever Biotech Park of the State, the first-ever MNC Job Fair to be held in the State, the approval of IIT and the sanction of an interstate bridge at Keediyan-Gadyal whose foundation stone was to be laid by the Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today itself but had to be postponed for a few days due to certain reasons.
He observed that Kathua failed to realize its full potential because of misplaced priorities of the earlier political establishment but with the new impetus received in last three months, Kathua will be able to make a headway in developing into a major business centre of North India on the same pattern as the neighboring cities of Jalandhar and Ludhiana.
He also directed the District Administration to earmark the land and put up a proposal for setting up an exclusive District Administration Secretariat Complex, which could house the offices of Deputy Commissioner and other senior officers of Kathua in a single premises.
Also present in the meeting were MLAs, Jagdish Rai Sapolia and Durga Das, prominent political leaders Advocate Vijay Sharma, Rajiv Jasrotia, Prem Nath Dogra, Dr. Narinder Singh and representatives of civil society.
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