Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to the local cuisine “Kalari” during his address at the April 12 public rally in Udhampur reflects the government’s sensitivity to Udhampur.
Union Minister and BJP Candidate for Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Lok Sabha constituency Dr Jitendra Singh addressing a rally at Udhampur city said that Udhampur is lucky that we have a Prime Minister who is not only familiar with the topography as well as the advantages and constraints of this region but has also been always forthcoming in giving priority to the development of this region to make up for the lapses of over a half of century of Congress rule and bring up this entire region at par with the developed regions of the country.
Dr Singh said it is not an ordinary thing that the Prime Minister of the country thinks of Udhampur and its people in such minute detail that he also hoped to come back next time to be served with a Kalari dish which also happens to be officially designated as “One District One Product” of Udhampur.
He said that for nearly 60 years, Udhampur had been deprived of all the development, and most of the representatives elected from here preferred to nurse their own vested interests instead of taking up the people’s cause.
It is only during the last ten years after 2014, he said, that Udhampur got a network of roads and for the last three consecutive years, this district has been rated among the top three districts of India as far as the construction of the rural roads under Central PMGSY scheme is concerned.
It is during these 10 years, said Dr. Singh that with the personal indulgence of Prime Minister Modi, the national-level Shahpur-Kandi project was revived after 30 years, which found a reference in Prime Minister Modi’s speech during Udhampur rally also.
He said, that future historians would ask the Congress rulers why they had held back this project for so many decades while this project was going to benefit the entire belt covering districts of Udhampur, Kathua, and Samba or was it their policy of appeasement which held them back from going ahead with this project even though India’s share of water from River Ravi kept flowing into Pakistan.
In the last ten years only, Dr. Singh said, Udhampur city got a Radio Station, a Passport office, a centrally funded Medical College, and above all, the Rs. 190 Crore national level River Rejuvenation project for River Devika. Today, roads and toilets have been constructed up to the upper reaches of this hilly district while Degree Colleges have been opened even in the rural areas like Neeli Nallah and if we talk of the entire constituency, we have Degree Colleges in far-off places like Kashtigarh, Batote and several distant places.
The credit also goes to the Modi government, said Dr Singh that the Railway Link from Udhampur to Srinagar was expedited and very soon Udhampur which is being developed as “Amrit Railway Station” and is named as Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan, will become an important railway junction between Kashmir valley and the rest of the country.
Dr. Singh said the first five years after 2014 were spent making up for the lapses of the past and addressing the requirements that were left unattended by the Congress government and its allies. The second term of five years was spent in building institutions like Medical Colleges, Industrial Biotech Parks, Homoeopathic Colleges, Ayurvedic College, etc.
The next five years from 2024 onwards, he said, will be dedicated to consolidating the gains of the last ten years and developing Udhampur as an attractive destination for education revenue and health.
