LG inaugurates pilgrims-centric facilities at Darshani Deodi, Banganga & Adhkuwari

Jammu,: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired the 74th Meeting of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), at Raj Bhawan, today.

The meeting was attended by Members of the Board- Mahamandleshwar Swami Vishveshvaranand Giriji Maharaj, Shri Baleshwar Rai, Dr Ashok Bhan, Dr Neelam Sareen, Shri K.K Sharma, Shri Suresh Kumar Sharma and Shri Raghu K. Mehta.

Dr Mandeep K. Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor and Shri Anshul Garg, Chief Executive Officer, SMVDSB also attended the meeting.

The Board, which met under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor held comprehensive review of its past decisions, ratified the actions taken after its last meeting and took several new decisions against 20 key Agenda Items having far reaching implications for functioning of the Board and augmenting pilgrim services.

Important decisions were taken in respect of new and underway projects of the Board such as construction of Exit Track & Remodelling of Manokamana area at Bhawan (a part of the Master Plan for Bhawan area), development of helipad in collaboration with Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board in village Hutt at Katra, New Vaishnavi Bhawan at Bhawan, Cottages (near Sports Stadium), Katra, Widening of Yatra track from Sanjichhat to Bhawan and operationalization of Medical College of the Board at Kakryal.

To cater to the substantial increase in footfall at Bhairon Ji Temple following the installation of the Passenger Ropeway in the year-2019, the Board concurred with the re-development of the Bhairon Ji Temple Complex to address key concerns, including the implementation of an efficient queue management system, provision of locker facilities and additional washrooms. The project seeks to facilitate simultaneous darshans, reduce turnaround times and enhance the overall pilgrim experience, ensuring seamless crowd management. The project is slated for completion within 12 months. The Board approved an amnesty scheme to settle long-standing litigation matters with shop licensees, providing a one-time opportunity for resolution.

The meeting also reviewed the implementation of the Annual Green Plan of the Board for the current year and approved the Annual Green Plan for the year 2025-26.

The Lieutenant Governor directed the CEO SMVDSB to conduct a thorough evaluation of the existing Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) across the Shrine Board’s premises to assess their adequacy in handling the generated sewage and necessary measures be taken to augment STP capacities.

He further directed to explore targeted initiatives to increase reliance on renewable sources of energy especially solar power to the extent feasible in the area of the Shrine.

The Lieutenant Governor also emphasised on implementation of robust feedback mechanism for fostering continuous improvement in the services provided by the Shrine Board.

He lauded the important contribution of Board Members in the last three years since the Board was reconstituted. He said, the pro-active association and continuous guidance by the Members were instrumental in taking the Board’s reputation to newer horizons.

The Board took appraisal of peripheral institutions under the SMVD Charitable Society including Gurukul, Hospital, Sports Complex, College of Nursing, Medical College and approved grants-in-aid and financial assistance to support their functioning. The Board also discussed several measures for expeditious completion of the Shankaracharya Temple project in collaboration with local stakeholders.

The Board observed that Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine has seen a consistent surge in devotees with the annual pilgrimage exceeding 90 lakh for the third consecutive year, reaching an impressive 95 lakh last year. The significant growth attributed to the dedication of major projects in the Bhawan area including Durga Bhawan with Tripti Bhojanalya, Skywalk, Remodelled Parvati Bhawan and Atka Area. Furthermore, the expansion of facilities and amenities in Katra and other sectors such as the Queue Complex at Darshani Deodi, YRC at Railway Station, holding area at Adhkuwari, pilgrims cum employees’ accommodation and the establishment of Prasad Kendras have also contributed to this growth. The provision of free Langars, medical facilities, facilitating senior citizens and divyang and Arti & Poojan facilities, coupled with eco-friendly and digital initiatives has significantly enhanced the pilgrimage experience.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Lieutenant Governor inaugurated several pilgrim-centric facilities including the Queue Complex at Darshani Deodi, Banganga and the Holding Area at Adhkuwari. The Queue Complex provides shelter during all weather conditions and streamlines devotee movement. Meanwhile, the Holding Area at Adhkuwari reduces congestion and waiting times, improves crowd management, safety and ensures a smoother movement of pilgrims towards the sanctum sanctorum.

On the occasion, 50gm and 100gm Silver Coins were also launched, adding to the diverse facilities available to pilgrims. Notably, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board had previously developed gold and silver coins in various denominations featuring an inscription of Goddess Mata Vaishno Devi Ji, ensuring guaranteed purity.

Earlier, Sh Anshul Garg, CEO, SMVDSB gave a detailed presentation on varied activities of the Shrine Board and the action taken with regard to the implementation of various decisions of the previous meetings of the Board.

Jammu: PHE, Irrigation & flood works being executed expeditiously in Shangus
Minister for Jal Shakti, Javed Ahmad Rana, today informed the House that all areas in Srinagar have been covered and the people are being supplied scheduled portable water supply by the department.

The Minister was responding to a question from legislator, Shamima Firdous.
The Minister said that the government is committed to facilitate supply of essential services to the people and ensure timely repairing of defunct water supply schemes.

He maintained that no water supply pipeline is defunct in Srinagar city and whenever any distribution line gets damaged, the same is restored under stage contracts and the damaged pipelines beyond repair are replaced by new pipelines properly.

The Minister said that the department is providing sufficient potable water supply as per schedule of existing water treatment plants and currently there is no area as uncovered.
MLA, Mubarak Gul, also raised supplementary questions on the question.

Replying to another question raised by MLA Reyaz Ahmad Khan, the Minister said that, PHE works are being executed by PHE Division Bijbehara while as irrigation works are being looked after by Irrigation Division Anantnag and flood related works are being executed by the Flood Control Division Anantnag for Shangus.

The Minister said that there is no requirement for creating these facilities separately for Shangus as of now. He assured that the government is committed to provide all basic facilities to the people in all far flung areas.

Jammu: Minister for Social Welfare, Sakeena Itoo, today informed the House that the Municipal Committee Dooru /Verinag distributes twin household dustbins among all households to segregate waste at the source, along with installation of twin bins in commercial areas for segregated collection of garbage in twin towns of Anantnag district.

The Minister was replying on behalf of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, to a question raised by G A Mir in the Legislative Assembly.

The Minister said that for collection of waste from the households and commercial establishments, 08 Hoppers are deployed regularly and the waste is subsequently transported to the Material Recovery Facility Plant at Verinag, where it is further segregated into dry waste and wet waste separately. The dry waste is processed in the MRF center which is then recycled and sold out, while the wet waste is put into the compost pits for generation of organic compost.

The Minister informed that 8 hoppers, 25 tri-cycles and one truck laden with sucker have been procured for Dooru and Verinag while as the department intends to procure machinery including weight bridge, baling machine and shredder for improvement in sanitation and waste management segregation.

The Minister, while replying to a supplementary, stated that three Solid Waste Management Plants of 4 TPD each have been approved for MC Dooru-Verinag. Besides, one Solid Waste Management Plant of 4 TPD is functional at Veering where the dry waste is processed at MRF facility and the wet waste is processed through pit composting method, she added.
She said that the Municipal Committee is committed towards ensuring efficient waste management practices through continuous improvements in segregation methods. Efforts are being made to enhance citizen participation, upgrade infrastructure and adopt innovative solutions for waste processing, she added.

The Minister further said that under SBM (U) scientific processing of the Municipal Solid Waste in the small and medium Towns of J&K has been undertaken. She said that the establishment of 78 Solid Waste Management centers (WMCs)/Material recovery Facility (MRF) along with compost pits has been approved. She added that construction work in 52 locations has been undertaken, of which, 33 Waste Management Centers/MRFs and 30 compost pits have been completed, while the work in 19 more sites of WMCs/MRF and 22 compost pits is under progress.

Further, she informed that bio-remediation of legacy waste at the dumping sites like Bhagwati Nagar, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Tral, Bijbehara, Pahalgam, Anantnag and Tangmarg has been completed and 3.88 lakh MT legacy waste has been bio-remediated. She apprised that the work has been awarded for bio-remediation of 6.16 lakh MT legacy waste at Kot Bhalwal by JMC, 2.98 lakh MT by DULBK and 1.20 lakh MT for 7 ULBs of DULBJ. Besides, the tender has been floated for bio-remediation of 11.00 lakh MT legacy waste at Achan, Srinagar, she added.

Regarding housing facilities, the Minister said that PMAY-Urban 2.0 has been launched in September 2024 to address the housing needs of EWS/LIG and MIG income categories by providing financial assistance for construction/purchase of houses through different verticals of the scheme in the next 5 years. She informed that Rs 907.68 lakh have been released to the beneficiaries for construction of houses since 2018 in Dooru and Verinag. Out of 747 sanctioned houses, 505 houses have been completed while 161 are under-construction as per the CS&MC data of MoHUA Government of India, she added.

Measures underway to protect vulnerable spots along Jehlum: Javed Rana
Minister for Jal Shakti, Javed Ahmad Rana, today informed the House that crate protection works are being undertaken under Flood Management Project Phase-II along river Jehlum, wherever required.

He was replying to a question raised by Peerzada Mohammad Syed in the Legislative Assembly.

The Minister stated that crate protection works are being undertaken at specific locations depending upon the vulnerability/weak spots. He said that these works will be completed by the end of March, 2025 at an estimated cost of Rs. 84.00 lakh.

Regarding the beautification work on river banks of Jhelum from Mehandi Kadal to Donipawa, the Minister informed that Irrigation and Flood Control Department does not have any exclusive budget to undertake beautification work on river banks. He said that the mandate of the department is to undertake anti-erosion works to prevent the bank damage, sloughing and breaching due to floodwaters.

MLAs, Basheer Ahmad Veeri and Tanvir Sadiq raised supplementary on the question.
Burzahama Hospital to be constructed at alternate site: Sakeena Itoo
Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Itoo, today informed the House that the Burzahama Hospital will be constructed at an alternate site and appropriate provision of funding will be kept for timely execution of the project.
The Minister made these remarks while replying to a starred question raised by Salman Sagar in the Legislative Assembly.

She informed that the construction work on Burzahama Hospital building was stopped on the objections of the Archaeological Survey of India, Union Ministry for Culture.

“During the year 2013-14, the construction of PHC Burzahama was taken up in hand under State Sector Capex Budget at an estimated cost of ₹179 lakh through JKPHC, against which ₹17 lakh were released. However, the construction work could not be carried out due to objections raised by the Archaeological Survey of India as the construction site comes under their jurisdiction thereby, causing the work on the project to halt”, apprised the Minister.
The Minister further said that the Intizamia Committee Burzahama offered a piece of Auqaf land for construction of the Health Centre at an alternate site but the Revenue Authority (Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar) has not yet transferred the land to the department for execution of this vital project.

“The department shall explore the possibility for construction of this health project at an alternate site and make appropriate provision of funding for timely execution”, the Minister informed.

Assures expeditious work on the project

JAMMU: Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Kumar Choudhary, today informed the House that a comprehensive DPR has been formulated for construction of bridge over Bheeni Nallah at Kaloran, Nangla Dull road in Bani worth Rs 583.78 lakh.

The Deputy Chief Minister was responding to a question raised by MLA, Dr. Rameshwar Singh.

He said that DPR for construction of 75 m span bridge with 700 m approach road amounting Rs 583.78 lakh has been prepared which is under active consideration of the sanctioning authorities during next financial year, subject to availability of resources.
The Deputy Chief Minister further stated that the grievance, in this regard, had been registered on the web portal of LG Mulaqaat.

JAMMU: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today laid on the Table of the House a copy of the Economic Survey Report for the year 2024-25.

‘Govt to focus on eco-tourism & local livelihoods’

JAMMU: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today stated that the government is planning to develop Bungus as an off-beat destination and that funds for providing some basic facilities for tourists have been allocated but the utilization of funds is linked to the forest clearance being granted, which is important for planned development of the area.

The Chief Minister was responding to a question by Member Sheikh Khurshed regarding the funds utilized for the development of Bungus Valley over the last two years. As the in-charge Minister of the Tourism Department, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah informed the Legislative Assembly that the approved allocation for the current financial year 2024-25 is Rs. 30 lakh, with Rs. 24 lakh already released.

Replying during the Question Hour of the ongoing Budget Session, the Chief Minister stated that the entire land in Bungus Valley falls under the Forest Department.

Accordingly, the matter has been taken up with the Deputy Commissioner of Kupwara for intervention in identifying land parcels for the proposed works in consultation with the Forest department.

“Once the land parcels are identified by the Forest Department, the necessary permissions and NOCs shall be sought on the Parivesh Portal for Forest Clearance,” he informed.
To maintain ecological balance, the Chief Minister said the department has focused on avoiding the construction of massive buildings and hotels.

“The aim would be to develop the area as an eco-tourism destination. The department would focus on creating basic recreation facilities, rain shelters, public conveniences, signages, lighting, and waste disposal facilities for visitors,” he told the House.

Additionally, he stated that to safeguard the livelihood of local shepherds, nomads, and other inhabitants of Bungus Valley, the J&K Tourism Department has initiated the process of registering Paying Guest Houses in the area. “This will help to preserve and promote local culture, traditions, and cuisine and would be an immersive travel experience for tourists. The house was informed that 19 paying guest houses in the proximity of Bungus Valley are registered with the Department of Tourism, Kashmir.

The Chief Minister also stated that the Bungus Festival would be organized to provide wider publicity to this scenic destination.

CS reviews preparations with stakeholders to make it a big success

JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a high level meeting to assess the preparations being made by the Information Department for a UT wide informational and educational campaign aimed at creating awareness about the hazards and prevention of drug abuse.

Present in the meeting were Principal Secretary, Home; Commissioner Secretary, Information & GAD; Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Commissioner Secretary, H&UDD; Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir/Jammu; IGP, Kashmir/Jammu; IGP, Crime; Director, Information & PR; State Drug Controller and other concerned officers.

Deputy Commissioners attended the meeting from their Offices through video conferencing.

The Chief Secretary emphasized the importance of training resource persons at the district level to ensure that a pool of trained individuals is kept available to reach every block and panchayat, fostering widespread awareness. He also directed for ensuring training of local officials in each block to act as counsellors, guiding the affected youth towards rehabilitation.

To enhance the campaign’s effectiveness, Dulloo instructed for covering every panchayat and higher educational institution across the UT with proper documentation of attendance and activities. He further advised the involvement of Deputy Commissioners in identifying key locations to ensure meaningful grassroots engagement of all the adult population there.

Highlighting the importance of clear communication, the Chief Secretary stressed the need for translating IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) materials into all local languages being spoken in the UT. He also urged the Information Department to leverage the reach of Radio and Doordarshan to disseminate educational content in far-off areas, ensuring maximum outreach and participation of the citizens.

To maintain the momentum, he directed the Department to publish a monthly newsletter featuring success stories, preventive measures and legal actions taken against the drug dealers to act as a deterrent. Additionally, he called for creation of a district-wise calendar of activities, widely publicised in advance, so that people in each village are informed about the campaign schedule and participating resource persons.

Commissioner Secretary Information Department, M. Raju, provided a detailed presentation on the planned implementation of the NashaMukt J&K Abhiyaan. He outlined that a short multilingual film would be showcased at every panchayat-level event, coordinated by designated nodal officers. The campaign will also feature interactive sessions with experts from the Health, Police, Excise, Social Welfare and Youth Services & Sports Departments, followed by Q&A sessions to engage the audience effectively.

To enhance the campaign’s reach and impact, he made out that the Department will collaborate with local influencers, including religious leaders and prominent community figures. Furthermore, individuals and families who have successfully overcome addiction will be publicly honoured as a source of inspiration for others, he added.

As part of the meeting, a short film on the ill effects of drug abuse was screened, which will be played at all campaign events. Additionally, the newly designed logo and web portal for Nasha Mukt J&K Abhiyaan were unveiled for feedback from the stakeholders.

Concluding the meeting, the Chief Secretary urged all stakeholders to play an active role in making the campaign a success, ensuring a lasting impact on the youth of J&K.

 The discussions also focused on a strategic roadmap for complete eradication of drug abuse from the society, with a strong emphasis on rehabilitation and support for affected individuals without stigmatising them to live their lives happily ever after.