*People of Doda celebrates Republic Day with great gusto, national spirit and enthusiasm* *Dr Sagar D Doifode (DC) Doda unfurls tricolour, pays tribute to constitution makers, Corona warriors,inspects guard of honour* *The Republic day celebrations witnesses huge gathering, near about 10000 locals participated in National Day celebrations at the venue*

Doda, January 26: 

The 72nd Republic Day was today celebrated with great enthusiasm, fervor and national spirit at Sports Stadium Doda wherein the Chief Guest, Deputy Commissioner, Doda Dr Sagar D Doifode unfurled the tricolor and inspected the guard of honour from contingents of JKP, CRPF, SSB, FPF, IRP 5th Bn and from scores of students of various schools of the Doda.

 

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Doda Mumtaz Ahmed, ADDC Doda Surat Singh, ADC Doda Kishori Lal Sharma, Commandant IRP 5th BN, SP Operations Raj Kumar, ASP Doda Master Popsy, President MC Doda Ved Prakash Gupta, DDC members, DFO Doda, ACR Doda, PO ICDS, GM DIC, besides other senior officers from civil and police department, elected members of MC Doda, prominent citizens, social workers, political activisits and number of men, women and children were present on the occasion.

 

The whole programme was co-ordinated/anchored by the Master of ceremony Master Om Prakash and I/C Cultural Cell Doda Naseem Ul Haq Batt.

 

Speaking at the occasion, the Deputy Commissioner, Doda Dr Sagar D Doifode highlighted the importance of Republic Day and stated that it is the  most significant day in the history of India as on this day in 1950 our country adopted the world’s largest written constitution which laid foundation of democratic process and good governance  in the country.

 

He further stressed for promoting national integration, communal harmony and peace.

 

During his speech, he counted  numerous developmental projects and works undertaken in the district, besides congratulated the people of Doda for their extraordinary cooperation in successfull conduct of maiden DDC elections.

 

He said that in PWD (R&B) sector during 2020-2021,165 number of schemes have been taken up which includes 137 roads and 28 bridges out of which 45 number of schemes of roads and bridges have been completed till now and 45 more such schemes are expected to be completed by March 2021, besides informed that 712.04 KM length of roads has also been achieved by the department.

 

Under PWD (R&B), the long pending demand of the people of Doda was to start the mega project of widening of Pul Doda-Beoli which is ongoing and will be completed in the upcoming days on priority. Further he also informed the general public that big project of Goha Sudhmadev Khaleni tunnel are going to start very soon under 2 phases which includes tunnels and 25km road reducing the journey of Doda Jammu by 2 hours, besides also said that land acquisition process has been completed and district has become the first in the entire UT to have initiated the land acquisition as per the new revenue laws which will benefit the beneficiary 4 time more as comparison to the earlier land laws  and submission of revenue codal formalities has been completed and work will be started soon.

 

He said that after coming of the GMC Doda quality of health services have improved, number of specialists are working in the GMC which has lessen the public grievances about health.

 

Moreover he also said that the construction of GMC is going on a fast pace, 80% of the work has been completed and subsidiary courses have been started in the GMC and informed that classes of the first MBBS batch has already started.

 

Moreover he also informed about the progress of other mega projects which are ongoing in the district which includes the construction of GDC kilhotran, Govt Polytechnic College Doda, Truck terminal Doda and Multi purpose Indoor hall Doda, besides informed that work on Institute of High Altitude medicinal plant at Bhaderwah has also been started and is ongoing in full swing and necessary structures are being created for the smooth functioning of the ambitious institution at Bhaderwah.

 

During his speech he also underlined the name of various important projects which are in the pipeline includes Development of various tourist spots like Seoj Dhar, Dedni, Lal Draman (cable car connectivity from Khaleni to Lal Draman), Development of New recreation parks at Doda.

 

Besides this district administration is also keenly working on the proposal of construction of Auditorium for Doda, Multi storey Bus stand/parking facility at Doda and establishment of Skill Development Centre is one important mention among them.

 

While addressing to the gathering DC said that in PMGSY sector Doda district wa recently ranked 2nd in the country and first in the UT in respect of BT road length achievement during the last year.

 

He said under PMGSY sector there are 180 schemes, all have been taken up and 74 stands completed which has added about 710.30 KM of fair weather road length in the district, adding to this the DC said that out of 258 no. of habitations proposed to be covered, 225 habitations has been covered till date.

 

He further said that during the 2020-21, 177.41 km road has been Blacktopped,87.23 km road has been metalled,115.45 km shingled and 48.64 km fair weather length has been achieved.

 

Referring to Jal Shakti (PHE) department he informed that Jal Jeevan Mission Har Ghar Nal Se Jal has been recently launched in the district. Six blocks under phase-1 are already identified namely Assar, Marmat, Changa, Chilly, Jakyas and Gandoh, beside 109 schemes are taken up with an estimated cost of Rs 124.79 Crores.

 

While counting on the achievements of rural development DC said during 2019-2020 under MGNREGA 10342 number of works had been taken up  out of which 8240 works stands completed and  37.69 lakhs person days were generated which is 142% of the target against the target of 26.50 lakhs PD’s. Expenditure incurred under MGNREGA during the year 9217.65 lacs.

 

After seeing the last year performance, the total approved target of PD’s for the district in 2020-21 has reached to 39.00 lacs, against which 31.66 lacs are already achieved which is 81% of the proposed target. The total number of works taken up during the current year are 10358 and the total expenditure against all these works are 137.32 Cr till date.

 

DC further said that during the lockdown restrictions various stranded labourers returned to the district and MGNREGA has address their daily needs by providing them labour employment and district administration this year has also targeted the generation of 45 lacs person days.

 

Under PMAY the DC said that under phase-1(2017-2019),1461 house’s were sanctioned out of which 1428 have been completed and in the second phase (2019-20) against the target of 5628 houses, the construction work for 5595 houses is going on & 799 have been completed, besides in the 3rd phase(2020-21), 5520 Houses has been sanctioned, the construction work for 4615 houses is on going and 21 stands completed and it is expected that by the end of this financial year more than 11669 house’s shall be completed across the district.

 

Moreover the DC said during the last year the landmark development has been achieved and for the first time the DDC Elections had been conducted successfully due to which the three tier grassroot democracy  has been established in the UT as well as in the district and various measures are being taken to further strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institutions.

 

Complimenting the PDD sector, the DC said that this year also the men and machinery of PDD sector has done a commendable job in timely restoration during the snowy season especially in the far flung areas.

 

The DC highlighted the major development in the PDD sector i.e the electrification of the Ganouri Tanta village of Kahara Tehsil within the record time of 15 days and the locals of the village for the first time in the history saw the light of a electric bulb, which has ended decades of darkness from the lives of the public.

 

Besides said that district administration is also committed to strengthen and augment the existing lines, and emphasis is being laid on systematic and timely improvement in power sector, and efforts are afoot to reduce the un scheduled power cuts to negligible.

 

Under district plan he said that the approved funds for the year 2019-20 were Rs 202.30 crores and for the year 2020-21 the funds approved is 401.61 crores, an increase of nearly 100% of the last year plan.

 

The DC said that out of the approved District Capex budget of Rs 401.61 Cr during the current financial year, an expenditure of Rs 201.32 Cr has already been made and till the end of the financial year the district administration is eyeing to utilise maximum funds and to complete all the works approved under district capex.

 

Under Education sector, the DC said that this year due to Covid-19 scare all the schools across the district remained closed, but even during this period of health emergency, the district administration distributed the Dry MDM among the 47491 beneficiaries at their doorstep, besides during (2020-21) 11089 students were provided scholarships across the district.

 

However the DC also said that the district administration in coordination with the education department during the lock down restrictions conducted Community classes, delivered online lectures and study materials to the students so that they shall be engaged in the studies.

 

Regarding Agriculture sector he said that more than 48000 farming families have been registered for PM-KISSAN Saman Nidhi Yojana and all of them are recieving financial assistance.

 

He also informed that 100% saturation of KCC cases was ensured by the District Administration and sent to the different banks by the field functionaries of the department for further sanction of loans in favour of the eligible farmers, besides Informed that the lavender and marigold cultivation has also been increased in the district in comprehensive manner.

 

Referring to the Horticulture the DC said that for the first time any local product of the district has been approved for GI tagging and recently due to the intervention of District Administration,the GI tagging for Gucchi Mushroom has been approved which will boost the marketing of the product at national and overseas market and it will have a huge impact on the livelihood of the local farmers.  

 

In Marketing sector, the DC said that in order to promote the direct marketing of the agricultural produce in the district by the growers a Rural Haat at Pranoo has been constructed, local mandi were also established at agriculture complex in Doda besides the facility of Cold Storage Van has been provided to the farmer’s of the district so that they can sell their perishable produce at distant mandis in fresh manner.

 

Under, Social Welfare department he informed that 38103 eligible persons had been benefitted under various social security schemes during 2020-21, and around 7000 new cases have been sanctioned and around 2880 cases have been weed out by the department, besides Informed that 28 beneficiaries were provided marriage assistance during the 2020-21 and 80 cases are in pipeline.

 

For The convenience of the specially abled person’s,the DC said that 31 motorised scooties were distributed, 25 wheelchairs and 10 hearing aids were provided to the beneficiaries during the current year.

 

Moreover in ICDS Sector, the DC informed that 42644 beneficiaries were covered under different activities during the year 2019-20 and 36427 beneficiaries have been covered till date during the current year , besides said that more activities of beneficiary benefit are identified and will be taken into account in the upcoming days.

 

He also said that thousands of new pension cases are under sanctioning stage against the weeding out of ineligible beneficiaries.

 

He said that  Nasha Mukht Bharat Abhiyan was also being launched  through out the UT as well as in the Doda district, and as a part of that various awareness camps have been organised in the district.

 

He appealed the general public of the district specifically the youth of the district to pledge that they shall not indulge in any kind of the activity which hampers their growth and advice them to take care of their near and dear ones and advice to practice the healthy lifestyle without indulging in to the addiction of the drugs.

 

Under H&ME the DC informed that recently on 26th of December the Hon’ble PM of India has launched PM-JAY SEHAT scheme for all the residents of the UT of J&K, under which all will avail free medical facilities upto Rs 5 lakhs in any empanelled hospital of the J&K as well as in the country.

 

The DC said that,  on mission mode the registration process is being conducted and beneficiaries can register themselves at their nearest CSC’s as well as at OPD levels and SEHAT card will be provided to them.

 

Moreover the DC said that this year the GMC Doda has already recieved their first MBBS batch and classes are ongoing, besides congratulated the people for the Covishield vaccine which has been already started in the district and primary health workers are the main recipient in phase I.

 

Highlighting the efforts of District Administration Doda regarding effective Covid-19 management in the district, the DC said that district administration had performed well in time and has successfully curbs the community transmission of deadly virus across the district till now by taking the important steps in the interest of the general public.

 

About 5 lacs face masks were locally produced and were distributed among the general public across the district through FCS&CA department, besides near about 5000 PPE kit’s were also locally produced which were distributed among all the frontline workers.

 

The DC also informed that, during the scare of Covid-19 and to treat the covid patients in effective manner, the district administration had also fortified the health institutions with the purchase of latest medical equipments.

 

High value ventilators were purchased by DDMA Doda and were handed over to GMC Doda for the benefits of Patients, also at various PHC level ventilators were given, besides oxygen concentrators, pulse oximeters, suction machines, nebulizers were also purchased and handed over to the health department to place in the peripheral health institutions.

 

Moreover he informed that number of sanitization tunnels had been errected, surveillance and QRT teams were constituted, trainings and awareness were imparted to more than 4500 person’s viz district officer’s, PRI/ULB members, Asha workers etc, besides installation of Aarogya Setu app and wearing of face mask had been made compulsory and rapid antigen testing at district level also proved fruitful to detect the cases at earliest.

 

Highlighting other important district level special initiatives, Zimedari Ek Ehsaas under which concept of grading was introduced and schools have witnessed drastic change after that, the conduct of sports activities under B2V-3, Distribution of Sports kits among youth,adding to this various initiatives of  awareness programs to promote Fit India Campaign with Cyclothon, Marathon rallies were organised in the district. Students of various institutions were send for Skiing courses at Gulmarg. Besides to provide pension benefits to the left out beneficiaries District level initiative’s were started which includes Iraada and Kartavya.

 

At the end of his speech

Deputy Commissioner, Doda showered praise towards security forces and congratulated them for working day and night to maintain peace in the district, besides thanks the elected representatives, Police, Army, CRPF, SSB, IRP,  SDRF, District officials, Education department, participants, Safai Karamcharis and Media persons for extending sufficient support in organising this national event.

 

He lauded the efforts of the Covid-19 warriors for working day and night in the service of the general public since one year without caring about their health and families, due to which today we are successful in containing the virus and are having less active cases in the district at present.

 

He said that the district administration and people of Doda will be grateful for their services and asked them to continue with the same dedication until and  unless the war against this deadly virus is not completely won.

 

Besides DC appeals the general public  for maintaining peace and communal harmony during the turbulent times and appealed to all people not to fall prey to the vicious designs of anti national people who are trying to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of the district. 

  

Cultural programmes displaying rich cultural traditions and ethos were also presented by the local artists which was arranged by the Academy of Art Culture and Languages department Doda in coordination with education department.

 

Main attractions of the event were Display of Tableaus presented by the different departments highlighting their key activities, parade by Covid-19 warriors, saraji and bhaderwahi folk  songs organised by cultural. 

 

Later, Deputy Commissioner Doda, SSP Doda, ADDC Doda, ADC Doda, Commandant IRP 5th BN distributed  trophies, commendation certificates and mementoes among the Officers /Officials for their exemplary services in different fields. Also the trophies were distributed among the students who came out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in cultural programme.

 

Similar celebrations were also held at Sub district Bhaderwah, Sub divisions Assar, Sub division thathri, sub division Gundow, Blocks and Tehsil headquarters.