Puri to visit on June 5, 6; meet party leaders, others
Another Rozgar Mela on June 13, Bhatt to attend
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 2: Union Minister for Home Amit Shah or Union Minister for Road, Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari will address a massive rally here this month while Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri is undertaking two-day visit to Jammu on June 5 and 6 during which discussions on Jammu and Srinagar’s Metro rail line could take place. Union Minister for Defence and Tourism Ajay Bhatt will be here on June 13 and distribute appointment letters to newly recruited youth as part of another `Rozgar Mela’ to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which thousands of selection orders will be distributed countrywide.
The BJP high command has conveyed to Jammu and Kashmir leadership that either Home Minister Amit Shah or Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will address a massive rally in Jammu by the middle of this month, an exact date for which will be communicated shortly.
Shah had last visited Jammu on January 13 to review situation in the aftermath of killing of seven civilians at village Dhangri in Rajouri district by the militants on January 1 while Gadkari undertook two-day visit to the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on April 10 and 11 during which he inspected Zojila tunnel and works on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and Delhi-Katra Expressway.
As the Home Minister also had to review arrangements for annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas which will begin on July 1 and last till August 31, totaling 62 days, the possibility is that he might undertake the visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
During his two-day visit to Jammu, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri will meet senior party leaders at the BJP headquarters and interact separately with retired bureaucrats and industrialists.
Sources said he could also discuss Jammu and Srinagar’s metro rail line project with J&K’s Housing and Urban Development Department officials.
The UT Government had submitted a Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of Rs 10, 599 crore for the metro rail projects in Jammu and Srinagar to the Centre for the approval, which include Rs 5,734 crore for Srinagar and Rs 4,825 crore for Jammu.
As per the project, Jammu Light Metro will operate 17 hours a day round the year while Srinagar Light Metro will run 17 hours daily during summers and 14 hours daily for winters.
There have been reports that Jammu and Srinagar have been included in a total of 23 new metro rail lines proposed by the Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Development.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address another ‘Rozgar Mela’ on June 13 and distribute thousands of appointment letters among newly recruited youth countrywide.
Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh will give inaugural remarks at the ‘Rozgar Mela’.
Union Minister of State for Defence and Tourism Ajay Bhatt will handover appointment letters to the youth of Jammu here after the Prime Minister’s address.
This will be fourth ‘Rozgar Mela’ in Jammu and Kashmir, the first being on November 22, 2022 which was also inaugurated by the Prime Minister through video conferencing and later the Union Ministers distributed appointment letters to the candidates at different places including Jammu and Srinagar. The second such Mela was held on April 13, 2023 where Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar distributed letters here after the Prime Minister’s address to the recruits.
Third `Rozgar Mela’ was held on May 17 in which also Gurjar had distributed selection orders here after address by the Prime Minister.
Sources said the ‘Rozgar Mela’ is a step towards fulfillment of the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accord highest priority to employment generation.
“The Rozgar Mela is expected to act as a catalyst in further employment generation and provide meaningful opportunities to the youth for their empowerment and participation in national development,” they added.