Jammu, July 26: Union minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday discussed the security situation with officers in Bani tehsil of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district amid requests by people for deployment of more forces in vulnerable points to counter terror threats.
Singh, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office, was in a far-flung hilly town as part of his continued outreach efforts to engage directly with citizens and local representatives, not only at the district level but also at the tehsil, block and panchayat level.
The minister held an over two-hour-long “public durbar” besides chairing a separate meeting to discuss the security situation in the region with district administrative and police officers, an official said.
He said Singh, who represents Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency spread over Kathua, Udhampur, Ramban, Kishtwar and Doda districts since 2014, was briefed about measures taken for higher vigil and surveillance following incidents of recent encounters and killings.
The minister said he had received requests from the public for the deployment of security forces at certain vulnerable points and expressed the view that an immediate call should be taken because it also builds confidence in the locals and raises their morale.
In turn, the minister was assured by the concerned officers that they would arrange for the deployment of paramilitary forces in these areas, the official said.
At the “public durbar” attended by senior officers to facilitate grievance redressal on the spot, the minister issued directions for replacing the decades-old “Jhoola” bridge in the heart of the Bani town, which was in popular use despite having become “unsafe” with time.
He directed the administration to prepare a detailed project report and the funds can accordingly be arranged, partly from his MPLADS fund.
On the status of the Chattergala tunnel in Doda, Singh said efforts are being made to get the project included in the current plan so that work on it starts sooner than later.
He said the 6.8-km Chattergala tunnel will connect Lakhanpur with Doda via Bani and provide all-weather alternate road connectivity between the two distant regions.
“It will also reduce travel time from Doda to Lakhanpur to about four hours and boost tourism as well as employment in the region,” the minister said.
Singh expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving priority to the project, saying that after he assumed office, work on the project plan was expedited.
He said earlier the project was given to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), but was handed over to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at a later stage as the estimated cost of the tunnel is nearly Rs 4,000 crore.
Singh listened patiently to the grievances and demands raised by individual citizens and public delegations.
Several issues were resolved on-the-spot, while in other cases, the minister issued directions to the concerned district officials in a swift and time-bound manner, the official said.
Addressing the gathering, the minister emphasised that elected representatives have a responsibility not only to solve the genuine issues of the people but also to make them feel available, heard and cared for.
“The ‘public durbar’ initiative is one of the most effective means of strengthening the bridge between the people and their government,” he said.
Reiterating the commitment of the NDA government under Modi, Singh said the aim is to deliver transparent and efficient governance to the doorstep of every citizen, transcending the barriers of region, caste, or political affiliation.
He said these public outreach programmes are driven by the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’.
The minister has been consistently touring his home constituency in recent months, taking the governance model closer to the people by interacting with them in such forums.
