Tourism potential in J-k's Doda to be tapped fully: V Muraleedharan

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Saturday reached Doda in Jammu and Kashmir as part of the Centre's public outreach programme, and assured that the tourism potential of the district would be tapped fully.

''Doda district has a huge tourist potential and it will be alleviated to the next level in the upcoming days so that maximum employment opportunities can be made available for the unemployed local youth,'' he said. He said this during his visit to Khaleni Top where he distributed PM-JAY Sehat cards and self-employment sanction letters among scores of people.

The Union minister also virtually inaugurated 36 works of the Rural Development department under various heads worth Rs 150.11 lakhs, and dedicated them to the people of the district, an official spokesperson said.

He said the central government, under the supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is committed to ensure the overall development of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the public outreach programmes which have been initiated in the Union Territory from last year were PM Modi idea to assess the issues of the common people at the ground level so that they shall be addressed on priority basis.

''After the abrogation of the Article 370, for the first time, a three-tier system has been implemented in J-K, besides numerous individual benefit schemes have also been rolled out for the locals,'' the minister said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Kapil Moreshwar Patil, concluded his two-day visit to Poonch district on Saturday.

Patil met several public delegations and assured them that he would submit the charter of demands with his recommendations to the UT administration for early redressal. ''The Union government is making best of efforts to ensure that benefits of the central government programmes reach all sections of the society without any discrimination, and also in making the delivery system of welfare programmes more effective with accountability and transparency in the administrative setup,'' the Minister said at a function.

He said there is no dearth of employment opportunities in the government and other sectors but the youth should be focused and able to grab these opportunities in different programmes and schemes. Patil announced that Rs 25 lakh will be released for the construction of Panchayat Bhawan and Rs 5 lakh for repair.

"Central government is very serious about the devolution of more powers to this institution to flourish further and in this regard, concrete steps are being taken to further strengthen the democracy at the grass-root level, and numerous initiatives are being taken into consideration to bring transformation in every sector to help the UT administration to march towards golden future,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)