Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Feb 3 : Minister of State for Fisheries, Co-operatives and Finance, Dr. Manohar Lal Sharma today laid foundation stone of a park at Gujru Nagrota market in Tehsil Billawar besides foundation stone of a passenger shed, toilet and a bathroom at Durga Mandir Complex in the Panchayat Kah-Kashad.
The projects will be completed at a cost of Rs.42 lakh by Lakhanpur Development Authority. He directed the concerned officers for speedy execution of these projects
The Minister sanctioned Rs.3 lakh out of his CDF for the construction of lanes and drains for the Panchayats of Kah and Kashad. He also directed the authorities concerned to invite tenders for the speedy construction of road from main road tent house to Mohalla Sainik Colony in Panchayat Kashad.
The Minister also sanctioned 8 hand pumps and 15 electric poles out of his CDF for the Panchayats Kah-Kashad.
Earlier, the Minister convened a public grievance camp at Panchayat Kah-Kashad and listened the problems of the locals very patiently. He assured them that their genuine problems would be solved on phased manner.
Responding to the demand of play ground at Kah, the Minister assured that he would take up the issue with the Sports Department and needful will be done.
Meanwhile, he underlined the need for involvement of the local communities in conservation of wetlands.
The Minister was addressing a function organized in connection with celebrating World Wetlands Day by the Department of Wildlife Protection, in collaboration with World Wide Fund for nature-India (WWF-India) and Department of Environment and Remote Sensing, at Mansar Wetland, a Ramsar Site.
The Minister assured that the Government will strive hard to ensure that the wetlands of J&K are conserved and maintained in the best interests of the people of the State.
Dr. O.P. Sharma, Chief Conservator of Forests underlined the threats that jeopardize the existence of wetlands in the so called modernized world.
Suresh Chough, Director, Environment and Remote Sensing highlighted the role of Mansar and Surinsar wetlands as an important source of water in the surrounding Kandi belt
Wildlife Warden, Saleem-ul-Haq, gave an overview of the programme. Pankaj Chandan, Head, Himalayan Wetlands Conservation Programme, informed the gathering that WWF is working for the sustainable conservation of wetlands through good science and policy & advocacy both nationally and internationally. Dr. Deepika Slathia, Assistant Professor, Deptt. of Environmental Sciences, University of Jammu, spoke about the services provided by the twin wetlands of Mansar and Surinsar and their relevance for local communities.
On the occasion, a symposium on the importance of wetlands was also organized in which Priya Sharma, Jeevan Lal and Poonam Sarmal received first, second and third prizes respectively.
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