BANIHAL: National Conference leader and MLA Banihal-Gool Sajjad Shaheen on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the 4-km Nachlana-Talab road, being constructed at an estimated cost of ₹7.33 crore, and said the project would improve connectivity and accelerate development in remote and hilly areas of the constituency.
Speaking on the occasion, Shaheen said Banihal-Gool was witnessing a visible change in its developmental landscape, with major projects being taken up in roads, power, healthcare, education, water supply and other sectors.
He said several facilities and infrastructure projects that had remained pending for decades due to neglect and inadequate attention were now being taken up across the constituency.
Shaheen said around five dozen road projects had been approved in Banihal-Gool under PMGSY, NABARD, UT Sector and other schemes. Work on several projects has already started, while the remaining works are at different stages of tendering and are expected to be taken up shortly.
Highlighting developments in the power sector during the past one-and-a-half years, he said the Banihal Receiving Station had been augmented from 6.3 MVA to 10.6 MVA, while the Sangaldan Receiving Station had been upgraded from 3.15 MVA to 6.3 MVA.
He said augmentation of the Khari Receiving Station from 3.15 MVA to 6.3 MVA was in progress, while installation of an additional 50 MVA transformer at Grid Station Tethar was also underway.
Shaheen said attention had also been given to healthcare and education, including strengthening of Sub-District Hospitals at Banihal and Gool, efforts to provide advanced diagnostic facilities, establishment-related initiatives concerning Degree College Khari and Kendriya Vidyalaya, and improvement of school infrastructure, including installation of digital smart boards.
He said works related to bridges, Panchayat infrastructure, water supply schemes, protection works and other public utilities were also being taken up across the constituency.
Efforts were simultaneously being made to promote tourism through development of the Banihal-Gool tourism circuit, particularly Mahoo, Mangit and Neel, besides encouraging fisheries and other livelihood opportunities, he added.
The MLA said special emphasis was being laid on far-flung areas including Khari, Mahoo, Mangit, Neel, Pogal and Sangaldan to ensure that development reached habitations that had remained neglected for decades.
Shaheen expressed appreciation for the Omar Abdullah-led government, saying it was pursuing an agenda of balanced and inclusive development with particular focus on remote, hilly and backward areas.
“The people of Banihal-Gool have waited for decades for their rightful share in development. Today, that gap is being addressed through concrete projects on the ground. Our endeavour is to ensure that every village, including the most remote habitation, becomes part of the development process,” Shaheen said.
He also thanked Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, who holds charge of the Roads and Buildings Department, for considering the developmental demands of Banihal-Gool and extending support for sanctioning and taking forward various road and infrastructure projects.
Shaheen said the projects completed, sanctioned and under execution during the past one-and-a-half years were only the beginning and added that efforts would continue to secure more major development projects for Banihal-Gool and address its long-pending infrastructure requirements.
Executive Engineer PMGSY Sansar Singh, AEE PMGSY and party leaders Fayaz Ahmed Naik, Mohd Ashraf Naik, Nisar Ahmed Sohil, Ilyas Ahmed Wani, Mohd Azam Sohil, Muneer Ahmed Bhat, Farooq Ahmed Goth, Shabir Ahmed Naik, Mukhtiar Ahmed Sheikh, Manzoor Ahmed Sheikh, Abdul Rashid Malik, Hashmatullah Sohil, Ajaz Ahmed Bhat, Farooq Sehamat, Wasim Ahmed Wani and others were present on the occasion.
