Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 18: Former Minister, Yogesh Sawhney met the Advisor to Lt. Governor today to raise various issues of Jammu East and Jammu West areas. He expressed strong concern about the delay in ordering an inquiry over the Panchvakhtar land row and conveyed to him the genuine angst among the people regarding the illegal and unauthorised tender of the land of the historic Panchvakhtar temple.
He further apprised the Advisor of the resentment among the people over this issue and demanded a high-level probe to resolve the issue.
People seek a high-level inquiry in the land issue, said Sawhney. Although the tender in question has been revoked, no inquiry has been ordered by the administration, he added.
The ex-Minister also highlighted various concerns regarding the parking situation in Mubarak Mandi and the thoroughfare in the Heritage Complex. The closing of the complex increased the parking problem and people have been subjected to traffic issues also, said Sawhney. He demanded that the gate be opened to allow movement from Mubarak Mandi to Chownk Chabutra. He discussed the opening of parking spaces near the Radio Station, at Panjtirthi, and suggested the opening of new parking space for the residents in the area where old staff quarters had been demolished in Panjtirthi. Furthermore, he suggested that the Mubarak Mandi School is relocated to the CPO or Ranbir Press area so that congestion near the Heritage Complex is avoided.
Sawhney was accompanied by Rajesh Sharma, Sushant Gupta, Atul Sharma, and Ram Magotra to discuss these issues with the Advisor.
Sawhney also called attention to the poor condition of lanes and housing in some areas of Jammu West where inefficiency and mismanagement by the JMC have caused a lot of problems for the locals. In Wards 29 and 30 of Shakti Nagar area in Jammu, people have complained of various problems such as broken and damaged streets and dangerously low hanging PDD electric lines, among other such issues. This poses a danger of accidents in the areas since these electric lines are running extremely close to the houses in these cramped lanes and are hanging at risky low heights. The Advisor, on listening to these issues, ordered the concerned authorities to look into the matter in the aforementioned areas.
The delegation also discussed with the Advisor the worsening situation of COVID-19 in Jammu and the need to improve medical facilities in the hospitals such as availability of Oxygen and proper medical care.