Ramban, Jan 29: Continuing outreach to snow-affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary Thursday undertook an extensive tour of the snow-bound areas of Ramban district to assess the post-snowfall situation and review the progress of ongoing restoration works.
During the visit, the Deputy Chief Minister chaired detailed review meetings with the heads of concerned departments at Ramban. He reviewed snow clearance operations, restoration of road connectivity, essential services, and the status of ongoing development works across the district.
The Deputy Chief Minister was accompanied by MLA Banihal Sajjad Shaheen, MLA Ramban Arjun Singh Raju, and other public representatives. Deputy Commissioner Ramban Mohammad Alyas Khan, SSP Ramban Arun Gupta, SSP Traffic NHW Raja Adil Hameed, Chief Engineers of PWD, PMGSY and Mechanical Department, along with senior district and sectoral officers, attended the meetings.
The Deputy Chief Minister visited several snow-affected areas including Banihal, Batote, Patnitop and adjoining localities to assess ground conditions and ongoing restoration efforts.
The Deputy Chief Minister fixed timelines for restoring road connectivity on all snow-affected roads and directed the Chief Engineers to personally monitor restoration works being carried out by their respective departments to ensure timely resumption of traffic. He also instructed the Chief Engineer, Mechanical Department, to submit a detailed plan for deployment of required machinery and to depute an officer at Ramban for smooth functioning of the department.
The Deputy Chief Minister reviewed department-wise and area-wise progress of snow clearance, restoration of essential services, and road connectivity. He issued strict directions to ensure uninterrupted power and water supply, smooth availability of food grains, petrol, diesel and LPG, and effective healthcare services across the district.
The MLAs raised various public issues and demands, upon which the Deputy Chief Minister issued directions on several matters and assured that remaining demands of public interests would be taken up on priority.
Emphasising public convenience and safety, the Deputy Chief Minister directed all departments to work in close coordination and adopt a time-bound approach to mitigate hardships faced by residents due to snowfall. He stressed that all available manpower and machinery must be pressed into service to ensure swift and effective restoration.
Earlier, the Deputy Chief Minister also inspected various areas of Banihal to assess ongoing snow clearance and availability of essential services across all snow bound areas.
Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner briefed the Deputy Chief Minister on the restoration measures undertaken by various departments across the district.
During the tour, the Deputy Chief Minister also interacted with public delegations, patiently heard their grievances, and assured them that all genuine issues would be addressed at the earliest in coordination with the concerned departments.
