Be at the beck and call of people: LG tells officials
Visits Srinagar localities; reviews restoration of essential services in Kashmir
Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday visited Srinagar and took stock of the measures undertaken for snow-clearance and restoration of essential supplies across Kashmir.
The LG received a firsthand appraisal of the response mechanism put in place to restore affected services from the concerned officers in a meeting held here at Raj Bhavan, an official press release informed.
It said the LG sought a detailed report on the status of restoration works especially road, water, and power being carried out by different departments across Kashmir.
The LG was informed that snowfall had affected normal life throughout the Kashmir Valley, however, the administration, had started restoration work on “war-footing from day-one to ensure that people do not face any inconvenience”, the oppress release informed.
The LG issued specific instructions to all the concerned officers and those at the field-level to ensure swift completion of snow-clearance and dewatering of all lanes and by-lanes. He also directed them to monitor restoration efforts and ensure round-the-clock operations for the earliest possible restoration in areas where public services are still disrupted. He enjoined upon them to remain at the beck and call of the people and ensure an uninterrupted supply of essentials and healthcare facilities across the Valley, the press release said.
The LG directed the senior officials to ensure adequate men and machinery for snow-clearance of city lanes, village link roads and further asked them to ensure the teams on the ground are functional round-the-clock to provide maximum relief to the common people.
The LG was informed that the power supply in all districts of Kashmir has been restored. It was given out that all 115 33KV lines stand restored and 255 receiving stations, except receiving station Machil, stands restored. It was also informed that 951 (11KV) feeders have been restored, while as out of 945 damaged DTs, 720 have been restored and the remaining shall be made functional soon.
As per the press release, it was informed that the R&B department has cleared snow from 7892 km of road length out of a total of 8026 km across Kashmir, while some remote areas which witnessed heavy snowfall including roads in far-flung areas of Shopian, Budgam, and Kulgam are being cleared and will be made motorable by tomorrow.
BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department and Information Department; Shailendra Kumar, Principal Secretary, Public Works (R&B) Department; Pandurang K. Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Vijay Kumar, IGP, Kashmir; M Raju, Secretary, Jal Shakti Department; Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar; Mohammad Aijaz, MD, KPDCL, besides Chief Engineers of PDD, PHE, R&B, Commissioner SMC, and other officers were present in the meeting.
Later, the LG conducted a “whirlwind tour” of Srinagar city to inspect the snow-clearance and other restoration works. The LG visited Lal Chowk, TRC crossing, Sonwar, Dalgate, Nishat, foreshore road, Hazratbal, Saida Kadal, Rainawari, Khanyar, Dastageer Sahib, Babadam, Monawarabaad, and other areas of Srinagar City and took the firsthand assessment of the situation, the press release informed.
At Lalit Ghat, the LG interacted with the Shikarawalas and enquired about the present tourism scenario. He also assured early redressal of the genuine issues put forth by them during the interaction.
…visits family of slain goldsmith, assures probe to bring culprits to justice
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday visited the family of slain goldsmith, Satpal Nischal in Srinagar and assured a time-bound probe to bring those involved in his murder to justice.
Nischal was killed by unidentified assailants at his shop in Saraibala locality of Srinagar on December 31.
Strongly condemning the killing, the LG said that a high-level investigation has already been initiated and assured the family members that culprits involved in this heinous act of violence will be brought to justice very soon.
“The Lieutenant Governor paid condolences to the family members of the deceased and said that such a despicable and cowardly act will not go unpunished,” read a statement issued by Raj Bhavan.
It said the LG was briefed by the family members that their family has been residing in Kashmir for the last 50 years and during this long period, they are living with and having very cordial relations with the local people.
BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Pandurang K. Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir, and Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar accompanied the Lieutenant Governor during his visit.
