Excelsior Correspondent
DANSAL, Dec 23: National Conference Provincial President Devender Singh Rana today called for massive reach-out to semi-urban and rural areas to ensure sanitation and cleanliness, essential ingredients for maintaining public health.
“Until rural landscape does not witness transformation in terms of civic facilities, the slogan of cleanliness will remain a distant dream”, Rana, who is also MLA Nagrota, said while inaugurating Sulabh Sauchalaya here this afternoon.
The Sauchalaya has been constructed at a cost of Rs 11 lakh out of Constituency Development Fund of Rana. Similar facility, costing Rs 14 lakh is nearing completion at Nagrota out of the CDF.
Highlighting the developmental activities taken up in the Dansal Block during the nine months of the current financial year from April to December 2016, Rana said Rs 50 lakh have been spent out of his Constituency Development Fund (CDF) on upgradation of various facilities in villages of the Block.
To augment and improve the power transmission system 26 transformers have been provided in Dansal Block out of the CDF, in addition to laying of various HT/LT lines. For the first time after twenty years, power panels of three receiving stations at Jandrah, Dansal and Jhajhar Kotli have been replaced to improve power supply.
He also referred to the construction of Community Facility Centre at Dansal out of CDF and said this will be thrown open for public use soon. Two more CFCs are being constructed at Jandrah and Kanyala for which funds have been released out of the CDF.
He said that pumping station at Kishenpur has been fully upgraded at a cost of Rs 24 lakh after nearly thirty years out of CDF to strengthen drinking water supply in the area. In addition, several dug-wells and reservoirs have been commissioned at Badsoo and Chapper Sandrote recently while new pumping machinery has been installed at Urlani Filtration Plant. Besides this many other developmental schemes have been started during the last nine months.
Rana said that Union Energy Ministry has agreed in principle to start various development works costing over Rs 50 lakh through Power Grid Corporation in Kishenpur and its adjoining areas as part of Corporate Social Responsibility.
He sought a special dispensation for improving and upgrading civic amenities in the Constituency, being gateway to the revered shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi.. “Since pilgrims, thronging from various parts of the country 24X7 365 days, pass through the constituency to reach the base-camp of Katra, special attention is needed for upkeep of various utility services and beautification of the entire area”, he said while demanding special component in the budgetary allocation for this purpose.
He reiterated that development of the constituency remains top on his agenda and for achieving this, a concerted effort is being made to coordinate implementation of various projects with executing agencies.
The MLA Nagrota envisioned transformation of the constituency as a modern and vibrant extension of the capital city, saying that being strategically located on the National Highway the area has a huge potential for development as a satellite township. In this context, he referred to the infrastructural development in terms of golf course at Sidhra and various other projects taken up during the tenure of Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister.