Jammu: The work on the river Devika Rejuvenation project in Udhampur district will be completed by June, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday, asserting that various centrally-sponsored projects would give a new identity to his Lok Sabha constituency at the national level.
He also expressed hope that the academic session for MBBS courses in the newly set up medical colleges of Udhampur would commence from the next academic year.
The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) to review the progress of the centrally-sponsored schemes being implemented in Udhampur.
“The status of national-level projects was reviewed and you will be glad to know that the historic Devika project will be completed by June,” Singh said.
The work on the prestigious Rs 186.74 crore project, which has been included in Government of India’s National River Conservation Project (NRCP), started in March 2019 and was scheduled to be completed in two years. However, the project missed the deadline due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project included the construction of three sewage treatment plants of 8 MLD, 4 MLD and 1.6 MLD capacity, a sewerage network of 129.27 km, the development of two cremation ghats, protection fencing and landscaping, small hydropower plants and three solar power plants.
Under the project, bathing “ghats” on the banks of the river will be developed, encroachments will be removed, natural water bodies will be restored and catchment areas will be developed.
The Devika river holds religious significance as it is revered by Hindus as the sister of the Ganga. Also known as Devika Nagari, it originates from the hilly Suddha Mahadev temple in Udhampur and flows down towards western Punjab (now in Pakistan), where it merges with the Ravi river.
The minister said his Udhampur-Kathua-Doda is the only Lok Sabha constituency in the country that has got three medical colleges with active support of the Centre.
“We were planning to start the MBBS classes in Udhampur this year from a makeshift building, but it was not allowed by the authorities concerned due to already laid-down guidelines. The construction work on the buildings is in progress and we are hopeful that the MBBS courses will start from next year,” he said.
Singh said Udhampur and Kathua districts were among the first to get included in the list for development of highway villages, a concept of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under which the government intends to develop amenities projects to include helipads, motels, petrol pumps, food courts and parking lots on highways.
“The highway village in Udhampur is nearing completion, while the work on such a project in Kathua was delayed due to the expansion of the highway from four to six lanes. Kathua has now got additional highway villages as well,” he said.
“After the completion of various national-level projects, Udhampur will get a new identity at the national level and it will be visible on the national map,” he added.
On widespread protests over the draft proposal of the delimitation commission for Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said it is an initial report and will pass through several other levels before being finalised.
“It will be put in the public domain…the final report will take some more time,” he said.
“The draft proposal was shared with the associate members. We are getting objections from people as per their aspirations and the same will be submitted to the delimitation commission, which will take cognisance as per the laid down parameters and guidelines,” said Singh, who is one of the five parliamentarians from Jammu and Kashmir who are associate members of the commission.
The minister also talked about the “Sansad Khel Spardha” event and said it is aimed at identifying talent at the grass-roots level for honing their skills, which will benefit the youngsters of Udhampur district in a big way.
