Devika, Puneja bridges dedicated to people
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, June 24: Accusing previous Governments and public representatives from erstwhile Doda district of deliberately ignoring hilly and far flung areas, Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh today said the Narendra Modi led Government which is committed to serve the last man in the last queue has done away with all discrimination and injustice made with the people in the UTs of J&K and Ladakh by launching many welfare schemes and developmental projects.
Inaugurated two important bridges in his Lok Sabha constituency, namely Devika bridge in Udhampur and Puneja bridge in Bhaderwah, through a virtual ceremony in New Delhi, Dr Jitendra Singh said that developmental activities of last 60 years in J&K and Ladakh UTs are totally incomparable to the development done during six years of Narendra Modi Government. This is also for historians and commentators to note, he added.
Without naming anybody, he regretted that the public representatives from the hilly area of Doda who remained in Union Cabinet for four decades failed to give justice to this backward and far-flung area and only exploited the people for vote bank politics over the decades.
“The people of this belt have a right to ask them that despite holding the important Ministries at Centre why their native places got ignored and people were left here to fend for themselves’’, he said, adding that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which believes in slogan given by PM ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas’ does not believe in vote bank politics but welfare of all human beings belonging to any religion, region, caste or creed alike.
Maintaining that BJP is for justice to all and appeasement to none, Dr Jitendra Singh said “It is easy to hold demonstrations outside and criticize the Modi Government but it is very difficult to follow up the projects”. He added that no attention was paid to tap the water resources of the erstwhile Doda district having a huge potential of power generation over these years’’.
While taking a dig at previous rulers in the erstwhile State as well as at Centre, he said, “This would have not only made J&K self reliant in electricity generation but also helped in employment generation in this hilly belt.
He said Doda did not have important representatives in Union Cabinet but also in successive State Governments of J&K and asked what has been their contribution for the development of this hilly belt.
Inaugurating the 10-meter-long Devika Bridge in Udhampur in the presence of DG, BRO, Lt Gen Harpal Singh, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the 70-year-old demand of the people of the area got fulfilled, which will become a game changer for traffic jams and other traffic related problems in the area. He said, apart from taking care of traffic congestion and developmental needs of Udhampur town, Devika bridge will also help in smooth passage of Army convoys and vehicles.
He said that the bridge at a cost of Rs 75 lakhs was constructed in about one-year time span and the Border Roads Organisation deserve special praise for this as they overcame several hurdles and challenges like lockdown, shortage of labour and other local issues during the pandemic.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that virtual inauguration of the bridge project underlines the vision of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi that welfare projects related to people should be placed at their disposal at the earliest, without waiting for official formalities or ceremonial inaugurations. He said that BRO has constructed over 200 bridges in the region during the last 4-5 years including the famous Atal Setu Cable Bridge in Basohli to ease the infrastructure bottlenecks.
Referring to Devika River Rejuvenation Project which is coming up next to the site of the bridge, Dr Jitendra Singh said, this is the first of its kind after Ganga cleaning project and will be ready in a year or so. This will transform the area into a favourite destination for pilgrims and tourists alike, he added.
The land for Centrally funded Government Medical College in Udhampur has been identified, said Dr Jitendra Singh and asked the administration to expedite the process. The work on India’s first Highway village in Udhampur is also on while the work on Highway village in Kathua has been temporarily held up in view of the widening of National Highway to 6-lane which is going to be taken up soon, he informed.
Udhampur is also going to have an exclusive Industrial Estate to attract investments, for which land has been identified but process got delayed because of lockdown, said Dr Jitendra Singh.
The Union Minister also inaugurated 50-meter-long vital Puneja Bridge constructed by BRO at a cost of Rs 4 Crore at Bhaderwah in Doda district. Basoli-Bani-Bhaderwah road is a vital alternate link to the Doda, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah and Kashmir valley from Pathankot (Punjab) region without passing Jammu and Udhampur. Dr.Jitendra Singh said new connectivity and infrastructure projects will make Doda to emerge as a new centre of development.
In Doda, Dr Jitendra Singh referred to new Khellani -Marmat-Sudhmahadev Highway for which work has been started. He also mentioned new Degree Colleges in remote places like Marmat and Kastigarh.
Dr Jitendra Singh said “ Despite the lockdown, we made it sure that the developmental works in Doda district should not get affected and there should be no paucity of the labour to continue the development activities’’.
Referring to several developmental projects undertaken in the region in the last 5-6 years like the Medical Colleges and Engineering Colleges, Radio Station, National Institute for High Altitude Medicinal Plants, besides a string of road and bridge projects, Dr Jitendra Singh said that all this shows a new development paradigm unfolded in the last six years.
DG, BRO, Lt Gen Harpal Singh, Municipal Commissioners and DCs of Udhampur and Doda, Members of Civil Society and BRO and other personnel were present on the occasion.
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