UDHAMPUR: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said here today that Mansar Lake is being developed as a state-of-art destination which will attract visitors from across the country and also be a part of the tourism circuit in this region.Making a dig at those who say that there is no development happening, DrJitendra Singh, who was addressing District Development Council election campaign meetings in the Mansar and Majalta area, said that when Mansar develops as a versatile Multiplex Health Resort, these critics will also be able to avail of the “Wellness” facilities here.He reiterated that opponents and certain vested interests had launched a disinformation campaign about no development even during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, but the voter proved wiser and testified that he was a witness to the unprecedented development in the last six years, the magnitude of which could be compared with the development of earlier six decades.Dr Jitendra Singh said, after the Devika project, this is the second water rejuvenation project of national level in the same Lok Sabha constituency of Udhampur-Doda-Kathua. The estimated cost of this project will also be almost the same as the Devika project, that is about Rs. 200 crore, and the two projects are the first of their kind in North India.With the completion of Mansar lake project which was launched recently despite COVID pandemic, said Dr Jitendra Singh, a long pending public demand will be addressed and the real question to be asked is why this demand could not be addressed by the earlier governments in so many decades in spite of the fact that there had been influential Ministers from this region both in the State Cabinet as well as in the Central Cabinet.Some of these Jammu based leaders of Congress and National Conference, who are now lamenting lack of attention and lack of development in the region, should first answer why they had facilitated this discrimination to happen when they were Ministers in successive “Gupkar” led governments, he asked.Dr Jitendra Singh said, this is possibly the only Lok Sabha constituency in the country which was given three centrally funded Government Medical Colleges, a National Institute of High Altitude Medicine, two national river rejuvenation projects, Asia’s longest tunnel at Chenani-Nashri, world’s highest railway bridge, irrigation projects like Shahpur-Kandi, power projects like Pakkal Dull etc.All this has been possible because of the support from Prime Minister Narenda Modi, whereas before 2014 the Ministers representing this region were always shy of talking of Jammu because they were always apprehensive of annoying their masters from Kashmir. The same disgruntled leaders have now suddenly woken up to speak about Jammu and the Dogras, he quipped.Exuding confidence that BJP will win District Development Council election hands down, Dr Jitendra Singh said, history will record this fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced grassroot democracy in Jammu and Kashmir, while the Gupkar leaders and their henchmen from Jammu did not allow the District Development Councils to be constituted in the last seven decades.
