Excelsior Correspondent
New Delhi, Feb 5: An amount of Rs.50 lakh towards Jammu & Kashmir flood relief was donated here today through Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh by the representatives of IRCON International Limited, a Government of India undertaking.
A delegation of IRCON officials led by General Manager Veer Narayan formally handed over the cheque to Dr Jitendra Singh in the presence of Senior BJP leader Sanjiv Sharma.
While acknowledging the gesture, Dr Jitendra Singh appreciated the initiative of IRCON officials and said that even though the Central Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been very liberal and prompt in providing every kind of support to rescue, relief and rehabilitation work in the aftermath of unprecedented floods in the State, the voluntary agencies and philanthropists from across the country and abroad have also made a laudable contribution for this noble cause. In this regard, among others, he recalled the donation of 7 lakh USD made by American business tycoon and philanthropist Bill Gates.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, even though the city of Srinagar was submerged in water, the loss of life and casualty was higher in Jammu region particularly in Udhampur District.
Pertinent to mention here that village Saddal – Panjar in District Udhampur was totally washed out by flash floods after which it was adopted by Dr Jitendra Singh and is now going to be the first ever “smart village” in the country to be developed on the ruins of a totally devastated village within a stipulated time deadline of 18 months.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, while rehabilitation work for the September floods is being carried out on a war footing, a perspective planning will also have to be undertaken in order to avoid the occurrence of such a catastrophe in future. Even though being a natural calamity, much of the damage and loss of life and property is contributed by several man-made factors, casual planning and scant regard for professional urban and rural statutes, he added.
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