Jammu: Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated the new campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Jammu on the second day of his visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
The new campus of IIT Jammu, built at a cost of Rs. 210 Cr, provides all facilities like good hostels, a gymnasium and indoor games along with higher education to students. Shah also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects for Jammu and Kashmir.
Several dignitaries including the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Jitendra Singh were also present on the occasion.
Later, while addressing a rally at Bhagwati Nagar, Shah said that a large piece of land was allotted for Jammu airport and the airport would be developed with Rs. 700 Cr. The Union Home Minister said that yesterday a helicopter policy was announced under which the Jammu and Kashmir government would build helipads in every district.
“People from the private sector will invest and different sectors will be linked together. Today many schemes have been inaugurated. There was a time when there were only four medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir and today seven new medical colleges have been established in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which five have started. Earlier there were 500 medical seats, now 2,000 students pursue their MBBS degree and no one needs to go anywhere. I have not seen a modern IIT campus like the one which has been inaugurated here today.”
He stated that the discussions were also held about how IITs, IIMs and AIIMS would complement each other by creating new types of courses together. There was also a discussion on the training of children from Jammu and Kashmir by opening a satellite campus so that more children from Jammu and Kashmir could be admitted to the IIT.
He stated that 9 medical colleges, 15 nursing colleges, IITs, NITs, IIMs, NIFT, IIMC, 2 Cancer Institutes, polytechnics, B.Sc nursing colleges, many institutes were built and started here.
The Union Home Minister said that work was continuing on a six-lane expressway from Delhi to Katra via Amritsar.
“For the first time since Independence, the focus has been on tourism in Jammu and religious tourism circuits are being developed. In March this year alone, about 62,000 travellers from abroad came to the Jammu region, which is a record till date,” he said.
Shah said that earlier the people of Jammu had to go to Delhi to show their children the metro railway. He said, “After two years the mothers here do not have to take their children to Delhi to travel in the metro, because the metro itself will come to Jammu. The metro is about to start in Jammu and Srinagar.”
The Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation said COVID-19 had shocked the whole world and people started thinking how a country like India would combat the disease. Our health infrastructure was slightly weak but the Prime Minister fought Covid-19 in the best way in the world and the death rate remained the lowest in India. He said that 100 percent of the first dose of COVID-19 was administered in Jammu and Kashmir and the second dose was received by over 50 percent.
Shah said that Narendra Modi started the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana, under which the Government of India would bear all the health expenses of 60 Cr poor of the country up to Rs 5 lakh. He said Jammu and Kashmir was the only state in the country where this scheme was not only for the poor, but for every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir, who was receiving Rs 5 lakh benefit under the SEHAT and Ayushman Bharat scheme.
“This shows how much attachment the Prime Minister has for Jammu and Kashmir,” he averred.
Shah said that gas, toilets and electricity were provided to all houses, as well as the task of providing employment to all the households has also begun. The Khadi Village Industries Board connected about 5 lakh women with the bee boxes and electric wheels.