 Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 15: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said that Kishtwar district will become North India's major power hub generating nearly 6,000 MW of power after the completion of the ongoing power projects.
Addressing a public rally through virtual mode from Jammu, as he could not make it to Kishtwar due to inclement weather, Dr Singh said, the surplus power from Kishtwar will not only be utilised for other parts of the UT, but will also be sold to other states. He lamented that the rich natural resources of Chenab were not exploited by the previous governments which ruled J&K for 60-65 years.
It is pertinent to mention that 1,000 MW Pakal Dul Project, 624 MW Kiru Project, 540 MW Kwar Project and 930 MW Kirthai Project are all located in close vicinity of each other, along with 850 MW Rattle Project which has been revived as a joint venture between the Centre and the UT. This, the Minster said, makes Kishtwar region as one of the biggest power hubs of North India. He also announced 100 percent reservation for locals in unskilled jobs for these projects and promised to give preference to local talent in skilled manpower requirement.
Dr Singh said, before 2014, road travel to Kishtwar was cumbersome and on the slightest landside, the Doda-Kishtwar road got blocked. But today, the road travel time from Jammu to Kishtwar has reduced from over 7 hours to less than 5 hours now. Similarly, he said, during these 8 years, Kishtwar has come up on the Aviation Map of India and has been sanctioned an airport under Centre's UDAAN Scheme, which nobody had ever imagined.
The Minister said, Kishtwar has got an AYUSH Hospital, while Paddar was given a Kendriya Vidyalaya under Centre's RUSA scheme, because the then state government had declined to do so. Overall, in the erstwhile Doda district of which Kisthwar was a part, Dr Singh said, India's first-ever National Institute of High-Altitude Medicine is coming up in Bhaderwah and centrally funded Medical College has already started in Doda.
Similarly, three new national highways including Khilani-Sudhmahadev Highway, a series of Degree Colleges, mobile towers enroute Machail Yatra and other remote areas have also come up during the Modi government, he said. He called upon the citizens to motivate the youth to avail maximum benefit of the start up avenues in Aroma Mission, Purple Revolution and Lavender cultivation, which has already picked up in the neighbouring Bhaderwah and is seen as a hitherto unexplored source of livelihood.
Dr Singh said that areas like Jammu and Kashmir, North-Eastern States and other hilly States suffered on many counts during the last 60-65 years, due to myopic policies of the successive central governments, but soon after the Modi government took over in 2014, Prime Minister had stated that every effort would be made to bring the North Eastern region, J&K and other backward regions at par with the more developed regions of the country.
Dr Singh said that Prime Minister will always be credited for having introduced a new work culture in India wherein each of the pro-poor and public welfare schemes were designed in such a manner so as to reach the neediest or the last man in the last queue, regardless of cast, creed, religion or vote consideration.
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