Excelsior Correspondent
![Minister of State for PWD (R&B) Sunil Sharma addressing a public gathering at Padder on Tuesday.](http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/page5-300x80.jpg)
PADDER (KISHTWAR), June 30: Minister of State for PWD (R&B) and Revenue Sunil Sharma has announced a Degree College and ITI for the hilly tehsil of Padder in Kishtwar district.
Sunil Sharma was speaking at public grievance redressal camp during his maiden visit to the Padder tehsil of district Kishtwar as Minister of State.
Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Mohammad Javaid Khan, Senior Superintendent of Police Kishtwar Yougal Manhas, Assistant Commissioner Development Kishtwar Akhtar Qazi besides SDM Padder, Tehsildar Padder and other District and Sectoral Officers were present on the occasion.
The Minister announced that Government Degree College and an Industrial Training Institute will be opened in Padder to provide Higher Education as well as Technical Education to the local students and unemployed youth of the area.
The Minister also informed the people that the Karthie Hydro Electricity Project is in pipeline and the work on it will be started soon.
He said the construction of the prestigious project would also help to overcome the unemployment problem in the area. He said that project would need sufficient manpower and the local unemployed youth would be given preference.
Sharma said that Padder being one of the remotest areas of the district, there is an urgent need to upgrade the public service delivery system in the areas. He said Government is committed to provide all the basic necessities to the people living in rural and far flung areas. He said to improve the power distribution network in the area the existing 11 KV transmission line is being upgraded to 33 KV line at a cost of Rs. 1.60 crore which will have its receiving station in Padder.
He also said that as the road connectivity being the backbone of economic and social development, the prestigious Gulabgarh- Machail road upto Ladakh has been proposed before the Union Surface Transport Ministry for declaring it as defense road for which the required process has started.
On the issue of Bus Stand at Paddar town, the Minister directed SDM Padder to identify suitable land for the purpose. He also asked XEn PWD (R&B) Division Kishtwar to simultaneously make the DPR of the project and start its construction .
The Minister also informed that Government has given the contract of Sapphire extraction at the Sapphire Mine of Padder to a Mumbai based Company which will soon start the excavation work. He said about 400 unemployed youth will get employment in the mining work.
Minister also made various announcements on the occasion which included sanctioning of Rs 2.41 crore motorable bridge by Union Surface Transport Ministry in Kundal, adoption of two villages Ungai and Kabban under Sansad Adarsh Gran Yojna (SAGY) by the MP Rajya Sabha Shamsher Singh, 2 Cridal Boxes with Foot Bridges for Ishtiyari and Sanyas. He also revealed that the Defense Ministry has agreed to raise a Battalion of Para-Military Force from erstwhile District Doda for which Recruitment Rallies will be organized in rural and far flung areas like Padder, Marwah, Warvan and Dacchan.
On the issue of Shrine Board for Machail Mata, Minister revealed that the Bill for the establishment of Shrine Board will be introduced in the Legislative Assembly during the coming Assembly Session.