J&K’s power generation capacity to be doubled in next 5 yrs: Union Minister

Work is on to realise PM vision on J&K: MoS Home; Centre committed to providing better healthcare facilities: Mos H&FW

Jammu: Asserting the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on mission to make Jammu and Kashmir power surplus state, the Union Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar said that the power generation capacity of the Union Territory will be doubled in next five years.
“Central and the Jammu and Kashmir governments are working on multiple projects to raise the power generation capacity of the region two-fold within the above-mentioned period,” Gurjar said who was on a visit to the Reasi district to take took stock of various projects.
The visit comes as part of the Government's public outreach programme for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The Minister also inspected the Salal power project.
The minister further said that the Government is working expeditiously in multiple sectors including roads, railways, and funding numerous developmental projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
Allaying apprehensions about privatisation and surge in electricity rates in the future, the Minister assured that all economic factors would be considered to ensure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir get quality power supply at cheap rates.
He appreciated the activities being undertaken by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), under Corporate Social Responsibility, and also planted saplings in the Jyotipuram housing colony during the visit.
With respect to instituting an elected government in the region, the minister said that the Centre is already working hard to make ground for robust democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.
"We have successfully conducted unprecedented BDC and DDC elections in this regard," he added.
He said further democratic initiatives would be taken as the conditions improve.
The minister was accompanied by Principal Secretary Power Development, Rohit Kansal; Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Charandeep Singh; General Manager, NHPC, Nana Ram and Reasi Superintendent of Police (SP), Surjit Singh among other senior district officers.
Work is on to realise PM Modi's vision on J&K: MoS Pramanik
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision for Jammu and Kashmir and concerted efforts are being made to turn his vision into reality, Union minister of State for Home Affairs Nishit Pramanik said on Monday.
The minister made the remark while inaugurating a Youth Conclave in the Pulwama district of south Kashmir in which thousands of youths participated.
He appealed to the youths of Pulwama to come forward and be the participants in the developmental ladder. The objective of the conclave is a step towards fulfilling the aspirations of the Pulwama youths, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision for J&K and concerted efforts are being made to turn his vision into reality, Pramanik said.
He added that acquiring skills relevant to the opportunities available in the market is the need of time.
The MoS also said the skill development initiative will not only benefit J&K youths but will also help the Union Territory administration in understanding the unemployment situation in Kashmir so that necessary steps could be taken based on suggestions from the youths.
He stressed the commercial cultivation of high-value products in the primary sectors including agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, dairy, handloom and handicrafts which are profitable job avenues for Pulwama youth.
Reiterating that Pulwama youths are professional, articulate, and talented, the minister urged them to work hard to capitalise on the opportunities. He stated that both the central government and the UT administration would support them in their endeavours.
Only the skilled and specialised person can get the benefit of the growing market, therefore it becomes very important to skill our youth, he said.
He expressed the hope that such workshops will equip the youths with emerging skills.
The new Kashmir has new challenges, and the youths of Kashmir hold bigger responsibilities. Many opportunities are coming up and we must have some sort of skills to grab those opportunities, he said.
He requested the youths from the district to engage themselves in developing specialised skills rather than looking for government jobs.
The resource persons for the workshop were Quality Council of India chairman Adil Zainulbhai who is also the Reliance Industry (L&T) director, Tribal Affairs Secretary Dr Shahid Iqbal Chowdhary, who is also the CEO of the Mission Youth J&K, Maulana Azad Urdu University's former chancellor Zafar Sareshwala and renowned Indian folk singer Padma Shree Malini.
Experts from different fields shared their experiences and talked about opportunities in various sectors such as entrepreneurship, food processing, tourism, solar technology, apparel, and home furnishing among others.
The minister later also met the DDC members, BDC Members and Sarpanchs, who apprised him about their demands and grievances.
Representatives of different political parties called on the minister wherein they highlighted several demands and grievances about the socio-economic development of the society.
A delegation of PRIs extended gratitude to the central government for conducting the outreach programme so as to hear the common masses.
The minister gave a patient hearing and expressed happiness over the meeting held with the delegations.
The Union government has a dream for the development of Jammu and Kashmir, he said, adding that the present outreach programme has been initiated by the government to know the basic problems of the people at the ground level.
Pramanik assured that the demands and grievances projected by the delegations have been taken note of and the same would be put up with the government at the Union level as well as with Lieutenant Governor for their timely redressal.
The minister later visited Indian International Trade Saffron Spice Park, Pampore where he inspected various departments of the processing unit.
In addition to the Stigma Separation Centre, the minister also inspected the drawing, grading, packing and E-Auction Centers at the park.
He also inaugurated the inter-zonal district-level competitions of Pulwama in various games and distributed sports kits among the specially-abled persons and orphans.
The minister impressed upon the participants to take part in games and sports to get physically and mentally fit.
Centre committed to providing better healthcare facilities to J&K: MoS Pawar
The central government is committed to providing better healthcare facilities to public and to fulfil the demands of the youths of Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar said on Monday.
As part of the central government's public outreach programme, the minister visited Primary Health Centre, Mattan, in Anantnag district of south Kashmir to review facilities available at the hospital.
She was briefed about the implementation of various health-related schemes and also the availability of testing facilities for the patients.
The minister also interacted with the students of Government Medical College and assured redressal of their demands at the earliest.
Pawar said the central government is committed to providing better healthcare facilities to the general public and to fulfil the genuine demands of the youths of the UT.
She stressed the need for strict adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour, and appreciated the teamwork of the health department and Covid warriors in managing coronavirus patients and ensuring successful vaccination.
Anantnag DDC Piyush Singla, Anantnag GMC principal, various sectoral officers and members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) accompanied the minister.