A visit of much promise
Nazish Riyaz
IN any state, the role of the government is to bring development and prosperity through development in varied areas – infrastructural, health, education related and more.
We are witnessing a paradigm shift in the Union Territory’s system of governance. They seem to be moving from being urban-centric to focussing equally on rural areas. Along the lines of this policy, LG Manoj Sinha recently visited the Beerwah Subdistrict headquarters so as to have an interaction with the residents of this slice of the Budgam district.
The Beerwah area is the sub-district headquarter of the Budgam district with a population in thousands across the different villages of the subdivision. It is one of the largest towns in the Budgam district. Beerwah is 27 kms from the summer capital of Srinagar, located along the banks of River Sukhnag.
During his visit, the Governor, while addressing a public rally at Town Hall, Beerwah, said that for J&K to move ahead and make significant contributions, there have to be real development initiatives on ground. He said: “Our effort has been to build J&K a UT of people’s dream and fulfil the aspirations of all sections of the society so that they can contribute to the nation’s progress. We are trying to ensure that the benefits of growth reach all sections of the society and improve the overall life of the common people of Kashmir. From roads to healthcare, we are seeing the beginning of a qualitative change. The growth in infrastructure has given new hope and confidence to all sections of the society besides improving the investment scenario. All this is to script J&K’s overall development and a great future. With greater commitment and accountability in the system we have taken decisive steps to empower the youth, women, artisans and farmers. A number of measures to address challenges in agriculture and allied sectors will improve productivity, infrastructure and enhance crop production”.
Governor Sinha said that the Beerwah township had lots of potential for development since it was one among the business hubs of the area. He assured that the administration would put its best efforts to collaborate with the district administration to bring out a positive and an effective development policy execution in the area. He also talked about highlighting its tourism potential and about bringing locations like Doodhpathri and Tosamaidain on the tourism map of J&K by providing proper infrastructural help and road connectivity through the Beerwah subdistrict headquarter area. This would help generate livelihood and employment in the area, thus empowering the unemployed educated youth, he added.
The Governor also applauded the role of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in bringing positive development to the area with their commitment and dedication towards public service. He said these institutions provided connectivity between people and the administrative machinery and that indeed, their participatory approach was going a long way in changing the paradigm of governance in J&K. He thanked the District Development Council Chairman Nazir Ahmed Khan for inviting him to Beerwah Subdistrict Headquarter for the interactive session.
On the occasion, the Governor also assured that the development work for District Hospital, Budgam would start in a short period of three months and would improve the overall health care system in the district under the Ayushman Bharat endeavour. Besides this, he also said that the Beerwah caves would be promoted as a tourist destination.
He also said that under the higher education system, a cluster university study campus would be made operational and functional in the Beerwah township so that the local students may receive higher education without having to travel to Srinagar city.
Many locals, while sharing notes with KC, felt that LG Sinha’s visit would certainly trigger quick development in the area after a long inertia, thanks to the previous government. They hoped that all development projects assured would be taken up and seriously without any delay so that the people of the area could avail of better service in public policy approach. They felt the recent visit of the Governor and his administrative machinery could push development into the lives of the marginalised sections of the society.
Mirwaiz Central Kashmir Beerwah Abdul Lateef Bukhari praised the UT administration’s efforts in bringing development and prosperity to J&K’s different sectors. He said that the current government was pitching high quality governance with strong accountability and transparency.
