Kargil, Jan 26: While congratulating people on Republic Day, the CEC said that on Jan 26, 1950, the Indian Constitution was enacted after which India became a Democratic Republic. In the Constitution all religions, colours, gender and races have equal rights without any discrimination.

He said that people need to actively participate in the development of villages, cities, and the entire country with the spirit of patriotism.

On the occasion, Dr Jaffer paid rich tributes to the veteran soldiers of the country who have sacrificed their lives for safety and security of the nation.

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He said the Council is dedicated to enhancing and developing the district, leaving no area overlooked adding the goal is to propel the district to new heights of development.

The CEC said that works have started on many projects for the larger interest of public. He said the Council is committed to provide a clean, transparent, corruption-free and accountable administration to the district.

Dr Jaffer said the developmental works in the fields of health, PWD, tourism, sports, rural development are going on vigorously while other sectors need to be stabilized for which various important steps have been taken.

While talking about the health sector, the CEC said it is priority sector of the council and the focus is to further upgrade hospitals and health and wellness centers to push healthcare adding that efforts are being made to provide better medical facilities.

CEC Dr Jaffer said that installation of 160 slice CT-scan machine in District Hospital Kargil at Rs 7.60 cr which was recently inaugurated and dedicated to the people by the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) is an important step in ensuring better health care for people. He said apart from this, Mammography and Angiography machine facilities are also available in the district hospital.

The CEC said for the construction of pre-fabricated structures for caregivers at District Hospital, he said that the residential facilities will be made available.

“This year the construction of an additional block for the district hospital has been approved for Rs 89 cr and MRI machine will be installed as the tendering process is in the final stage,” he said. The CEC also said that this year work will be started on the construction of over 60 Health and Wellness Centres.

He said they have succeeded in approving Urban PHC in NHM which is expected to provide better medical facilities for people of Kargil. He also said that diagnostic procedures will be conducted free of cost in hospitals from this year.

Dr Jaffer also said that they are planning to provide staff in all the NTPHCS which will make the medical centers more efficient and provide employment to educated unemployed youth.   To meet the shortage of kidney specialist doctor in District Hospital, he said the Army will provide the services of a super specialist doctor of Nephrology once a week and the services of an Anesthesia Specialist Doctor in Community Health Center, Sankoo, will be made available so that there are no difficulties during the operation.

The CEC expressed gratitude to the Indian Army, acknowledging their training of 200 to 300 candidates for Army and Police recruitment. This effort aims to ensure the success of these candidates in the recruitment process.

He also thanked BRO, who have been at the forefront in providing better connectivity to the people, by constructing a bailey bridge at Panikhar within a short period.

Regarding the facilities being provided to people, students and patients outside UT Ladakh, the CEC said the Council is providing better accommodation facilities for students, commuters and patients in Srinagar and Jammu.

He said the LAHDC Kargil has reduced the room rent at Kargil House Srinagar and Jammu by 50 percent in view of the public demand and necessary equipment have been made available both in Jammu and Srinagar. Apart from this, the construction work of Kargil Bhawan in Delhi is going on in full swing, he said.

CEC Dr Jaffer said tourism is an important part of the economy and Council is committed to promote it on priority. To promote tourism industry he said the Council has worked on various schemes to make the infrastructure more stable in the district.

In addition, the council is developing a systematic plan to facilitate the transportation of tourists to and from the district’s tourist destinations.

“We are working to make a tourist circuit to make stay of tourists stay in Kargil for at least three to four days so that people associated with tourism make their livelihood,” he said.

The CEC said viewpoint Changi La, Mushkoo Valley, Tiger Hill etc. will also be linked to the tourism map with the support of the Army.

Dr Jaffer said under Urban Development, the work on multi-level Car Parking, Sewage Treatment Plant and 24×7 Water Supply Scheme will be started this year.

Under the revised Home stay Policy, 550 deserving people have been included in the scheme so that they can set up their home stays and contribute in tourism promotion.

He mentioned ongoing efforts to fill vacant positions in departments. This year, in addition to numerous appointments to the divisional cadre, the council has employed 313 educated unemployed individuals across various district-level departments.

Regarding the issues with examination center of Union Public Service Commission, the CEC said that the Council has taken up the issue with higher authorities.

CEC Dr Jaffer said under marriage assistance scheme, Rs 50,000 is being provided to the deserving girls for their marriages.

He said the Council is attentive to the needs of Anganwadi workers, Anganwadi helpers, ASHA workers, and other casual laborers adding that efforts are underway to address their demands, including an increase in their monthly compensation.

About education, he said that they have provided laptops to 42 meritorious students of 7 blocks to keep students equipped with modern technology. A part from this, free boarding is being provided for 2,352 students at 34 hotels and 25 day boarding centers in the district during winter vacations for children of class 10th and 12th. He said employment opportunities have been provided to 553 educated unemployed youth on contractual basis by filling up the vacant posts of Hindi and Urdu teachers in the Education Department, including 403 Hindi and 150 Urdu teachers and Bhoti teachers.

The CEC said this they are in touch with higher authorities to appoint Arabic teachers on contractual basis.   CEC Dr Jaffer said following the success of two Super Markets in the Cooperative Sector, Super Markets will also be constructed at the block level for the convenience of people.

He said several projects have been taken up to provide residential facilities to the employees posted in various sub-divisions and blocks of the district.

About the Iqbal Mangrove Hydel Project, which is closed due to machinery failure, he said it requires funds for renovation and it would be made operational again.

About the Zojila Tunnel, the CEC said at present, construction of the tunnel on both sides of Zojila Tunnel, Minamarg and Baltal side is in full swing despite adverse weather conditions.

He also said that the Council has included the development of Agriculture and its allied sectors in its priorities so that the living conditions of farmers can be improved. He said Rs 1.30 cr has been given to 221 Shepherds (Rarzi) in different pastures. Apart from this, the construction of Shelter Shed 12 on the said pastures is completed and they are palling to construct more Shelter Sheds.

The CEC thanked HLG, Brig. (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) for taking the initiative to hire a private company to clean Kurbathang Plateau from unexploded shells very soon.   In order to promote ice hockey, he said the Council has provided complete ice hockey sets to 10 teams of the district so that they can perform better in high-level competitions. He added that in the upcoming years they will provide complete sets to all the teams so that they can participate in national and international level competitions.

The CEC also expressed his gratitude to all the officers and employees, operators, laborers, drivers and volunteers of the district administration, police department and Project Vijak who have kept the traffic flow smoothly on Zojila Pass in January, which is a new record.

He also expressed his gratitude to Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) for his recent visit to Kargil district and personally assessing the public issues and for spotting directions to solve the problems.