Weekly Block Diwas: DC Kishtwar presides over Public Grievances Redressal Camp at Panchayat Tatani

Kishtwar: Deputy Commissioner of Kishtwar, Dr. Devansh Yadav on Wednesday held a public grievance redressal camp in Panchayat Tatani of Block Drabshalla as part of the weekly Block Diwas program.
He was accompanied by the Tehsildar Irshad Ahmed Sheikh, BDO Drabshalla Ajay Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer Amjad Hussain Malik, officers and officials of various line departments.
The camp was attended by the BDC Chairman Drabshalla Suraj Singh, DDC member Drabshalla A Ashok Kumar and numerous people from the adjoining area, as well as local PRIs. The attendees raised concerns about the shortage of local infrastructure and the public delivery mechanism in the area .
Dr. Yadav assured the attendees that their grievances and issues would be addressed in a time-bound manner in consultation with the concerned authorities. Most of the issues were addressed on the spot in coordination with the officers present.
The Deputy Commissioner informed the people that the district administration has started an innovative initiative, “Hello Kishtwar,” to listen to and redress the grievances of people at their doorstep. Through this initiative, people from far-flung areas can call on the Intervoice Response System number 8470800900 on every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 am to 12 noon and lodge grievances over the phone to the concerned district officers and senior officers of the civil and police administration. The system is fully equipped to provide time-to-time updates on the progress of registered grievances.
The Deputy Commissioner also took stock of the enrollment of 24 Back to School students in designated schools in the area and directed the concerned authorities to provide Date of Birth certificates to out-of-school children (OOSC) to ensure hassle-free enrollment in mainstream education. The parents of these children will also be provided with fast-tracked Job Cards & Labor Cards on priority so that scholarship aid can be extended to these children without fail, allowing them to continue their studies without any inconvenience.
Regarding the upgradation of tourism activities in the area, including the Bimalnag area, the Deputy Commissioner said that the district administration Kishtwar, in collaboration with Tourism Jammu, is planning to initiate tourism activities in this offbeat destination. “Interested youth from the area will be provided proper training as Tourist and Mountaineering guides so that they can get livelihood opportunities and locals can be linked with the tourism trade. To that end, the youth from the district will be sent for a certificate course in the tourism sector at the Pahalgam based Institute soon,” he informed.
The Deputy Commissioner also addressed the issue of employment in local Hydroelectric Power Projects, saying that the implementation of the 80:20 ratio has been ensured in these HEPs. Over 1200 youth have already been employed and more youth will be provided jobs in a fair and transparent manner. Ratle HEP has been advised to put on hold fresh recruitment till the transparent mechanism of hiring is put in place, informed further.
He urged people to work in these projects with dedication and honesty to ensure their timely completion.
In response to the issue of pending compensation for land acquired for the roads in the area, the DC assured the attendees that the issues related to Compensation Under PWD & PMGSY had been taken up with the government and the same would be resolved soon.
In addition to the Block Diwas programme, the district administration organized the ‘Kisan Sampark Abhiyan’ campaign under the supervision of Chief Agriculture Officer Amjad Hussain Malik to raise awareness among farmers about the various initiatives and measures undertaken by the government for their benefit.
The Kisan Sampark Abhiyan programme saw the participation of several officials and experts from the agriculture and allied departments who interacted with the farmers and discussed their issues and concerns. The officials highlighted the various schemes and programmes launched by the government to support the farming community, such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Kisan Credit Card Scheme, and Soil Health Card Scheme, among others.
The experts also provided guidance on the use of modern farming techniques, such as crop diversification, organic farming, and integrated farming, to enhance productivity and profitability. The farmers were also educated about the importance of sustainable agriculture practices and the need to conserve natural resources.