Pulwama : Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Itoo, today convened a public grievances redress camp at Circuit House Pulwama.
The event was attended by MLA Pampore Justice Hasnain Masoodi, MLA Zainapora Showkat Hussain Ganie, Programme Officer ICDS, Chief Medical Officer Pulwama, Assistant Commissioner Development Pulwama, Executive Engineers of R&B, PHE and other line departments besides officers from the Health, Education and Social Welfare departments.
During the camp, deputations from different villages and urban areas of Pulwama and Shopian, representatives of trade bodies, social organisations, senior citizens and other stakeholders projected a wide range of public issues and development demands and submitted memoranda of demands concerning their respective areas.
The issues raised during the interaction included strengthening of healthcare facilities, improvement of educational infrastructure, augmentation of sports facilities, water supply schemes, development of public parks, establishment of scientific dumping sites, road connectivity, widening and upgradation of roads, deployment of adequate staff in health and educational institutions besides concerns related to agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry sectors.
The Minister gave a patient hearing to all the deputations and sought on-the-spot feedback from the concerned officers regarding the issues raised. She directed the officers to take immediate measures and ensure timely resolution of genuine public grievances.
Speaking on the occasion, MLA Pampore expressed gratitude said that such interactions provide an effective platform for addressing the genuine concerns of the people. He expressed hope that similar programmes would continue in future to strengthen the public participation in governance and ensure prompt redress of public issues.
MLA Zainapora, while addressing the gathering, said that the visit of the Minister to directly interact with the people and listen to their concerns at their doorstep demonstrates a people-centric approach aimed at ensuring that the voice of every citizen is heard and considered in the decision-making process.
Addressing the gathering, Sakeena Itoo assured the participants that all genuine issues projected during the meeting would be examined and addressed in a timebound manner. She said that a follow-up review meeting would also be conducted to assess the progress achieved on the issues raised and ensure their effective redressal.
The Minister expressed gratitude to the people from different areas of Pulwama and Shopian, particularly senior citizens, community representatives and members of the civil society, for participating in the interaction and sharing their valuable suggestions for development of the districts.
Sakeena Itoo further directed the officers to adopt a people-centric approach in discharge of their duties and ensure improved delivery of public services. Stressing the importance of accountability and responsiveness, she called upon all the departments to work in close coordination for welfare and betterment of the people.
Highlighting the significance of the agriculture and horticulture sectors, the Minister said that these sectors form the backbone of the local economy and livelihood of a large section of the population. She directed the concerned officers to ensure the availability of irrigation water and other essential facilities to the farmers and orchardists during the ongoing growing season so that productivity and income generation are not affected.
Sakeena Itoo also instructed the officers to strictly adhere to the prescribed timelines in execution of development and infrastructure projects. She emphasized the need for regular monitoring and supervision of works to ensure quality standards and timely completion. She added that delays in project implementation directly impact the public welfare and must be avoided. She asked the officers to maintain transparency and accountability while executing the development works and delivering public services.
