Union Minister of State in PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh today reviewed the Amarnath Yatra arrangements here at Lakhanpur base camp - the entry point to Jammu & Kashmir.He also welcomed the pilgrims entering the state and informed them that the State and Central Government has made adequate arrangements to make their yatra safe and comfortable.Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Yatra is an annual affair and doesn`t belong to any particular community but signifies the fusion of different cultures which highlights India’s unity in diversity. He further added that it is the collective responsibility of every stakeholder to make the Yatra successful. He urged the pilgrims to act as the ambassador of Jammu & Kashmir by informing about the facilities and arrangements they experience during their journey to the holy shrine back in their states.He assured the pilgrims that Govt has put in every effort to make the Yatra convenient. He informed that elaborate facilities like, drinking water, Medicare, power and fool proof security arrangements as also proper accommodation during halt has been made all along the route.Praying for smooth and safe yatra, the Union Minister said the pilgrims have to brave tough and inclement weather conditions during the yatra. He appealed the people to undertake the Yatra only after proper medical checkup and registration.
Later, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated a newly constructed building of Kendriya Vidyalaya on the outskirts of Kathua Town.Earlier, Kendriya Vidyalaya was functioning from a temporary government building. The new building has been constructed over 70 kanal land allotted by district administration with 24 classrooms, 3 laboratories, 2 Computer Labs, Medical Room, Activity Room, Math Lab, Playground, Toilet for specially abled children and a library. An amount of Rs 21 crore was spent on the construction work which was executed by the CPWD department.In his address, Union Minister highlighted the role of teachers in shaping students’ future. He said that in the past few years majority of qualifiers of national level exams like civil services, IIT and Medical had come from Government educational institutes.“In Jammu & Kashmir Indian Army made arrangements for providing free coaching to 32 students aspiring to become engineers. 7 of them qualified IIT exam and 25 got selected for NIT,” Dr. Singh informed and added that 40 students migrated to Govt. educational institution in border tehsil Hiranagar when provided with better educational facilities. Deputy Commissioner Rohit Khajuria, SSP Shridhar Patil, ADC, ACR, SP Traffic Rural, DC Excise Toll Post Lakhanpur, DC KVS Jammu Region, AC KVS Jammu Region, Principals, Engineers and other district officers were present at the function.