KISHTWAR: The District Administration Kishtwar today launched the 15-day Mega IEC Campaign under the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gramin Utkarsh Abhiyan, marking a significant step towards the holistic empowerment of tribal communities in the region.

The campaign was inaugurated at Panchayat Kwar, Tanji, Block Nagseni, with a grand Awareness and Benefit Saturation Camp.

The campaign aims at saturation of tribal areas with government welfare schemes and services and is being implemented across 19 Gram Panchayats of the district.

The launch event witnessed enthusiastic participation from the tribal community. DDC Member Nagseni, Faisal Hussain was the Chief Guest, among the government functionaries were local BDO Abhilash Sharma, AD Handicrafts Pardeep Shan, Naib Tehsildar and others from key departments.

A wide range of activities and services were provided on the spot to ensure immediate and meaningful benefits to tribal beneficiaries.

These included the issuance of essential documents such as Aadhaar Cards, PMJAY Golden Health Cards, Domicile Certificates and Caste Certificates.

Awareness stalls were set up by 17 line departments, covering over 25 government schemes, interventions. Health and wellness outreach by the Ayush and Health Departments focused on screening of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including awareness on sickle cell disease.

Nutrition awareness campaign was led by ICDS under the Poshan Abhiyan, promoting nutritional food for infants, children, adolescents and women. Water quality testing was conducted by the Jal Shakti Department in tribal habitations.

Social Welfare Department initiatives included the distribution of baby kits and notebooks and the promotion of schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Ladli Beti, Marriage Assistance and pensions for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

Skill development awareness by the Handicrafts Department included pottery, crafts and knitting demonstrations.

Anti-drug awareness included the distribution of notebooks with anti-substance abuse messages and Nasha Mukt Abhiyan pamphlets.

Additionally, special Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gramin Utkarsh Abhiyan Entitlement Cards were distributed to tribal beneficiaries as part of the effort to streamline scheme access.

Further, the officials held interactive sessions with community members to discuss the objectives of the campaign, conduct ground-truthing exercises and identified gaps in service delivery.

The tribal residents expressed their gratitude and assured active participation throughout the campaign.