During a public rally, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh reaffirmed the revival of Village Defence Guards (VDGs) prior to holding a general “Public Durbar,” which lasted over three hours.
The Union Minister said, “The security agencies have a strategy in place to control the security situation in district Doda and its adjoining areas in view of the recent incidents of terror, but such strategies are not discussed in public.”
Dr. Jitendra Singh is the incumbent Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space. Speaking about the Village Defence Guards (VDGs) being revived, the Minister stated, “The government has also decided that if and wherever needed, VDGs will be deployed as part of the multi-pronged strategy to confront the challenge posed by terrorists.”
During the discourse, he announced that weapons, including SLR rifles, may be provided to the VDGs so that they can negotiate the challenge effectively and made a passionate appeal to all the communities to put up a united front against terrorism. He recalled that Doda did not succumb to terrorism even during the 1990s when it was at its peak. He recommemorated, “As inhabitants faced the menace tooth and nail, they were successful in preventing migration of the people from here.”
Speaking about the infrastructural development of Doda, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that a network of highways has been created in order to improve connectivity to remote areas, reduce travel time and enhance passengers’ comfort in the last ten years of the government. “When completed, the strategically important Lakhanpur-Basohli-Bani- Bhaderwah-Doda National Highway will reduce distance on this route by more than 100 Kilometres,” he said.
Minister Singh stressed on the necessity of creating awareness about the welfare schemes of the government. Addressing the local administration, he said, “Workshops should be organised to make the youth and their parents aware of the benefits of various welfare schemes.”
During the ‘Public Durbar,’ the Union Minister held a ‘Public Darbar’ lasting over three hours in which the district administration led by Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh (2019-batch IAS officer), issues of public interest also came up, with the local people raising their demands and seeking redressal of their grievances. After listening to the local demands, Dr. Jitendra Singh instructed the administration to ensure speedy and timely resolution of matters of public concern. He directed that all possible measures must be taken to improve the delivery of public services in a time-bound manner.
