Concluding his 3-day visit of district Poonch, Minister for Public Works, Floriculture and Gardens & Parks, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari Friday inaugurated four motorable bridges in rural areas of Haveli and Surankote tehsils here.During his tour, he was accompanied by MLA Haveli, Shah Mohammad Tantray, MLA Surankote, Ch. Mohammad Akram, MLCs, Yashpal Sharma and Dr. Shehnaz Ganai, DDC, Mohammad Harun Malik, SSP, J S Johar, Chief Engineer R&B, Alok Mengi, Chief Engineer PMGSY, Hamid Sheikh, SE R&B, Majid Wani, ACD, Dr. Basharat Hussain, XEN R&B, Mushtaq Raina and others. Addressing a public gathering at Loran, Mr. Bukhari said the Government has formulated plans for holistic development of the State and developmental aspirations of the people at regional and sub-regional are being addressed on priority. He said Projects like Mughal road and construction of Loran to Tanamarg road are being expedited to ensure greater connectivity of Pir Panjal region with rest of the state. “It will also give boost to tourism in this region and provide employment opportunities to locals’’, he added.
The Minister was speaking after inaugurating Sukha Chua and two other motorable bridges at Khanater constructed at a cost of Rs. 165 lakh and Rs. 110 lakh respectively under state plan. The 28m and 25m span motorable bridges at Khanater will provide connectivity to a major portion of the village.
Funded under NABARD, the 22m span motorable bridge at Sukha Chua has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 64 lakh. The bridge will connect Haveli and Mendhar.At Khanater, Mr. Bukhari also inspected Government High School.At Seri Khawaja in Surankote, the Minister inaugurated another motorable bridge constructed at a cost of Rs 757.91 lakh under state plan, which will connect several villages in northern parts of Surankote. At Mandi, the Minister announced a motorable bridge at Rajpora that shall be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.7 crore. He also directed the PMGSY authorities to macadamize 2km Mandi to Azmabad road.
The R&B Minister also inspected the work on Ghulam Ahmed Ganai Memorial Sub-District Hospital in Mandi Earlier, Mr. Bukhari laid foundation of Girls Islamic Model High School. He also visited Raza ul Uloom High School Poonch.Speaking at Jamia Zia ul Uloom and Raza ul Uloom educational institutes, Mr. Bukhari commended the role of these institutions for imparting quality, modern as well as religious education to the students. He particularly lauded the contribution and services of Malulana Ghulam Qadir to the society.MLA Haveli Shah Mohammad Tantray, MLC Yashpal Sharma, Maulana Ghulam Qadir and Maulana Syed Habib also spoke on the occasion.