Under the ambitious outreach programme of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY), Secretary, Youth Services and Sports (YSS), Sarmad Hafeez, on Thursday visited remote Heerpora Panchayat situated on the Mughal Road in Shopian district. The rural outreach programme witnessed overwhelming participation of public and other stakeholders. Besides, DDC Council members, BDC members and PRI representatives also graced the occasion.
Secretary administered pledge of Viksit Bharat among the participants and then visited the stalls set up by various departments for raising awareness, on-spot service delivery, and registration of beneficiaries for various services. Sarmad Hafeez appreciated the robust and hassle free mechanism of government services. He said, tremendous benefits under hundreds of schemes are being provided to the people through online mode, within timelines.
He also highlighted the health sector schemes of AB PMJAY while elaborating how it is helping people to avail healthcare services free of cost. While appreciating NRLM activities in the area in marketing agricultural produce, he called upon the local people, especially youth to venture into different self employment entreprises for their economic development.
He termed VBSY, a novel connect initiative, by way of which the administration is attending the people's issues at their doorsteps and promoting engagement of people in developmental trajectory. Secretary commended the district administration for their efforts in saturating the public welfare schemes. He added that the need of the hour is to give wide publicity to government schemes so that the benefits reach the unreached and all eligible population is covered.
Other speakers highlighted the objectives of the VBSY program while public representatives and activists projected various demands related to youth services, sports development and other public welfare issues. Sarmad Hafeez listened to the issues and called upon officers to proactively take the demands into consideration for appropriate action.
During the event, IEC vans created awareness among the people regarding various Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Besides, calendars and other IEC material was distributed among the public. The event witnessed a captivating display of cultural performances by the local artists. Secretary also distributed Sports Kits among the youth of the area in order to equip them for pursuing the sports activities.
ADDC, Dr. Nasir Ahmad Lone, expressed gratitude towards the people for their active participation while presenting concluding remarks. ADC, Dr. Zakir Hussain Faaz, Joint Director, YS&S, Waseem Raja, ACD, ACP, District Officers, prominent civil society members, officials and locals including beneficiaries were also present on the occasion.