Jalandhar, December 29, 2019 (Yes Punjab News)
Along with starting of multi-crore development projects in district by Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab government, the year 2019 would be best remembered by people for healing touch provided by the district administration to the resident of the flood affected villages of Phillaur and Lohian blocks.
The district got major gifts in the year as the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh gifted multi-crore development projects to the district during 2019. The Chief Minister reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to ensure comprehensive development of the district for which these multi-crore projects were cleared for Jalandhar. These projects were aimed at giving major fillip to the development of the district and ensuring prosperity of its people.
In the very beginning of the year Punjab Chief Minster Captain Amarinder Singh laid the foundation stone of Degree College for Girls at the local Boota Mandi to be named after chief architect of Indian Constitution Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
Similarly, on the eve of the country’s 73rd Independence Day, the Chief Minister dedicated the third phase of the Jung-E-Azadi memorial here to the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and the unsung heroes who were incarcerated in the Andaman Cellular Jail during the freedom struggle.
Likewise, to give further impetus to the overall development in and around Jalandhar City, Captain Amarinder Singh also inaugurated and laid foundation stone of development projects worth Rs 133 crore in the district.
Along with this it was pro-people approach of the district administration which made this year a memorable one. It was on August 19 this year, when a breach took place on the banks of the swollen Satluj river in Phillaur block.
As soon as the breach took place early in the morning the district civil and Police administration led by Deputy Commissioner Mr. Varinder Kumar Sharma and Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Navjot Singh Mahal swung into action to ensure massive rescue operations. After Phillaur when the breaches took place in Lohian block both the officers left no stone unturned to ensure the safety and security of people.
Till the water receded in the flood affected villages the officers remained stationed in the field to oversee the flood rescue operations. Both the Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police reached out to almost every village through the water boat and personally ensured that flood relief material was distributed to the needy people. Side by side the work of plugging major breaches with the help of the Indian Army religious leaders was also ensured thereby giving a major succor to the people.
The administration also ensured proper rehabilitation of the people of flood effected villages by evolving a transparent, responsive and foolproof mechanism. The massive efforts of the district civil and Police administration was lauded by one and all. Even the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh appreciated the manner in which this natural catastrophe was perfectly handled by the district administration.
Another feather in the cap of administration was that it had been able to uphold the ethos of peace, communal harmony and brotherhood despite of highly volatile situations. The perfect synchronization of the district civil and Police officers ensured that the district remains peaceful by all means.
Heralding a new era for imparting quality healthcare to people in the government hospitals, a Super Specialty Clinic at the local Civil Hospital was started by the then Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, where 40 doctors rendered volunteer services to needy patients in super specialty fields.
The people were provided free consultation in the fields of Urology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Oncology, Pulmonology, Cancer Surgery, Hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery and neurology.
Similarly in an initiative aimed at imparting quality health services to the people under the Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Beema Yojna 2.91 lakh families of the district were covered for cashless treatment upto Rs 5 lakh in various empanelled hospitals by the state government.
Likewise, in a good news for the residents of city development works worth around Rs. 53 Crore were initiated this year under the Smart City Project this year.
In a major gift to the students of the government schools the Deputy Commissioner also inaugurated the project of setting of Smart Class Rooms in district under which the district administration has spend Rs 17.90 lakh for constructing Smart class rooms in 45 government schools of the district.
These class rooms were aimed at ensuring digital education and increase learning achievements of students, enhancement of student attendance, interactive teaching and learning and focused engagement of students in the classrooms besides ensuring overall development of the students.
The peaceful and smooth conduct of the General elections had been another remarkable achievement of the administration.
Due to persistent efforts of the district administration led by the Deputy Commissioner, the flyovers at Rama Mandi and PAP Chowk became operationed thereby streamlining the movement of traffic considerably. The project assumes significance as it was vital for the commuters travelling from Delhi to Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Pathankot and Jammu via Jalandhar to and fro.
The District administration also played a key role in involving public participation for eliminating the menace of drugs from the district through the Drug Abuse Prevention Officer (DAPO) campaign. The first of its kind mass mobilization campaign witnessed fulsome support and cooperation of people who joined hands with the district administration to wipe out drugs.
In the same manner the Tandarust Punjab campaign, which was the brainchild of Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, continued to act as an umbrella under which all the departments of the state government joined hands for improving quality of life in the state.
The driving force behind this mission started by the Punjab government was to ensure good health of all the citizens of the state. Besides checking the ever increasing water, air and noise pollution the campaign also focuses on ensuring the supply of unadulterated food items to people.
On the directions of Deputy Commissioner all the departments zealously implemented this mission by chalking out a time bound action plan and strategy so as to emerge Jalandhar as a clean, green, pollution free and healthy district.
The officers of district administration under leadership of Deputy Commissioner also carried on regular field visits to get themselves acquainted to problems of people. The problems faced by people were immediately redressed after the Deputy Commissioner and other top officers visited several places during the passing year. To ensure better functioning of government offices, the district administration also organized random checking in offices, educational institutes and others.
Aiming to promote Arts, Heritage and Cultural activities in Jalandhar, the city known as heartland of Doaba region, the District Administration also promoted several activities at Virsa Vihar. The work on construction of open auditorium in the Virsa Vihar also started this year after a gap of 10 years, since its foundation stone was laid. Major initiatives were also in pipeline for giving infrastructural boost to this place.
In another unique initiative, the Deputy Commissioner continued practice of celebrating the key festivals of Dusshera and Diwali with the specially able children in Red Cross School for Deaf and Prayas Special School. Even under his leadership the project of Sanjhi Rasoi to provide subsidized food to poor was running successfully.
The district administration also has a distinction of ensuring proper implementation of flagship programs of state government like Punjab Shehari Awaas Yojna, Guardians of Governance, Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana (MGSVY), Farmers’ Debt Waiver Scheme and others.
The concerted efforts on part of district administration also yielded results as more than 10 lakh matric ton of paddy and around five lakh metric ton of wheat was procured in the district in a hassle free and smooth manner.
A foolproof mechanism was evolved this herculean exercise during which the Deputy Commissioner along with other officers of district administration visited more than 70 purchase centres in district to ensure that no inconvenience was caused to farmers.
In order to guide the destiny of the youth of district, the district administration also organized the sixth edition of SPARK-career counseling mela in which more than 34,000 students from across the district participated. This mela, which was primarily aimed at grooming the students for a golden future, witnessed series of academic and sporting events.
