Speaker J&K Legislative Assembly Kavinder Gupta today in coordination with Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control Sham Lal Choudhary and Minister of State for Education, Culture, Tourism, Floriculture and Parks Priya Sethi launched a mega drive to rejuvenate the public parks in Jammu city.This is a joint effort by the Speaker and the Ministers to provide public with a clean and safe recreational space for community building besides generating green cover and adding to the beautification of the state.Kavinder Gupta along with Sham Lal Choudhary and Priya Sethi undertook extensive inspection of major parks in early hours of the day and reviewed the status of amenities available to general public. They also interacted with the locals and invited their opinions with regards to measures that can be initiated by the government for holistic development of these parks.
While addressing the gathering, the Speaker said that parks have a transformative value on health and vitality of communities. “The vision to build and revitalize these treasured public places is to create thriving gathering places for youth, families and adults,” he added.He further said that all necessary amenities including proper lighting, sanitation, dustbins, children recreational areas etc are to be developed and made available to the populace with special focus on regular maintenance and upkeep of the parks and their amenities.The Speaker also maintained that parks can also be used to encourage youth to detach themselves from computer gaming network and indulge in physical activities. He said with this aim, dedicated courts will also be developed in major parks for sports like badminton, basketball etc.While inspecting the park at Nai Basti, the Speaker and the Ministers observing the dilapidated condition of the park, passed immediate directions to start its restoration work at the earliest.Kavinder Gupta announced an additional financial support up-to Rs 5 lakh to undertake the first phase of restoration process.
Minister for PHE also assured the locals and floriculture department that dedicated water supply for maintenance and upkeep of the parks will be ensured by his department."Development of parks will provide people with an encouraging environment for outings, socializing and will help promote in people a healthy lifestyle especially in kids and elderly", he added.Minister of State for Floriculture during the inspection passed strict directions to concerned officials to create a mechanism for ensuring regular attendance and evaluating on-ground performance of the staff deputed by department for upkeep of parks.She further announced that new and improved facilities will be installed in major parks including installation of musical fountains, dedicated area for sporting activities for all age groups, paved tile pathways for walkers, joggers etc.Priya Sethi laying stress on maintaining a healthy flora in parks, besides beautification, directed the department to launch large scale plantation drives at all parks encompassing grass, plants, flowers and trees.The Speaker and the Ministers were accompanied by Director Floriculture officers, besides officials from concerned departments and local representatives from neighboring localities.