Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday said that the much awaited Jambu Zoo’s inauguration occurred at a rare moment when the entire world was applauding J&K’s saga of development after successful culmination of G20 summit (in Srinagar).
“In successful culmination of the G20 summit, the whole world saw that brimming with confidence, J&K, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was marching at an unstoppable pace to scale new heights of progress and glory,” he said.
The LG was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the Jambu Zoo at Nagrota on Monday morning.
“J&K is on the cusp of its development trajectory. Successful culmination of the G20 Summit has made 1.30 crore J&K citizens proud. I say it with full conviction, J&K citizens want to touch the pinnacle of development. Under the guidance of the Prime Minister after such a long time, we have broken fresh grounds to enable faster growth. We are now at a stage where we need to accelerate this growth, make it more inclusive and convert J&K’s potential into reality,” he said.
“With successful conduct of the G20 Summit, J&K has entered a new era of opportunities. It is a rare moment and the world is applauding J&K’s saga of development. We must work together to keep pace with the rest of the states and contribute to the significant task of Viksit Bharat 2047,” the LG said.
With regard to Jambu Zoo, he said, “This much awaited addition to the tourist destinations of J&K, spread over 70 hectare area nestled in the Shivalik Hillsin the phase-1, was taken up under Languishing Project and it shall attract both local residents and tourists visiting J&K.”
LG SInha said that the scenic beauty around the first-of-its-kind full-fledged zoo in J&K would make it a unique tourist destination and had the potential to boost tourism in the region.
“This zoo is not just an addition to a significant tourist destination in Jammu region but it is also an accomplishment of our cherished vision for the quality of life here,” he said.
The LG congratulated the people of J&K and all the stakeholder departments.
He also acknowledged the hard work of all the workers engaged in the construction of Jambu Zoo.
At the inaugural event, LG Sinha spoke on the developmental journey of J&K and highlighted the efforts to develop better facilities for the locals as well as for the visiting tourists and improving the quality of living for all.
He reiterated the commitment of the J&K government to empower every section of the society, especially the youth in achieving the goals of sustainable and inclusive development.
“Our youth are the architects of new Jammu Kashmir and we are seeing steady rise in youth entrepreneurs, who are working with dedication to build a prosperous society and preserve our civilizational-cultural values and our commitment to peace,” the LG said.
He said that the historic G20 summit and reformative youth-centric endeavours of the J&K government opened up endless opportunities for the socio-economic empowerment of the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Within just one year, more than 82,000 business units have been established, providing 2.85 lakh youth with direct employment opportunities. Under Mission Youth, we have extended handholding to 70,000 young boys and girls to become self-reliant,” LG Sinha said.
He said that under the Languishing Project, J&K successfully completed 1500 projects which were pending for the last 10 to 20 years.
“Our cities are being transformed into smart cities and our villages are getting more integrated into the mainstream development. The basic infrastructure is being strengthened to realize the potential of every region,” the LG said.
He called upon the people to cooperate in the government’s endeavours to develop tourism and other infrastructure in the region.
LG Sinha announced free entry for all in the Jambu Zoo for a month.
He also announced that the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams would be dedicated to the people on June 8 and Jammu Tawi riverfront would also come up soon.
The LG said that Jammu was also changing at a fast pace like Kashmir and the people of the region should contribute their bit to expedite this march towards progress and development.
Chairperson DDC Jammu Bharat Bhushan and Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma also spoke on the occasion and thanked the LG-led J&K administration for dedicating the Jambu Zoo to the public and giving impetus to the development of the J&K.
Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta called for exploring all the possibilities to make Jambu Zoo one of the finest in India.
Principal Secretary, Forest Department, Dheeraj Gupta and PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden, J&K, Suresh Kumar Gupta gave a detailed briefing on the key highlights of the Jambu Zoo.
Senior officials of civil administration and Police, PRIs and ULB members and people in a large number were present on the occasion.