Jammu, January 16 (KNO): Advisor to Governor, Kewal Kumar Sharma on Wednesday directed for timely completion of the prestigious Tawi Barrage project. The Advisor was speaking at a review meeting convened to discuss the status of the Tawi Barrage project coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 110 cr.
Secretary, PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Farooq Ahmed Shah, Chief Engineer, PHE and other senior officers were present in the meeting. The Advisor directed for close coordination among the executing agencies so that the project which is aimed at beautifying the landscape of Jammu city is completed without further delay.
He said that regular review meetings will be convened to assess the pace of work and early removal of bottlenecks, if any. The meeting was informed that the pending work on the project would be started soon and necessary directions have been passed to expedite the work on the project for its early commissioning.
Mr. Farooq Ahmad Shah while highlighting its importance stressed on adherence to the deadline for the completion of the project so that further cost escalation can be arrested. He said that the artificial lake on the Tawi was expected to provide 120 cusecs of irrigation water, which would be supplemented to the Ranbir Canal during peak requirement, besides emerging as a vital tourist attraction in Jammu city.
The meeting was told that around 80 percent work on Jammu city's prestigious beautification project across river Tawi is completed so far and the Tawi Barrage project, which is popularly known as artificial lake, is likely to be completed within the revised scheduled time i.e by May 2019.
It was also decided that expert advice would be taken from IIT Roorkee so that the project is completed within the specified technical specifications and taking care of other related aspects. It would be pertinent to mention that the meeting has been taken after the visit of the Advisor to the Tawi Barrage project site recently.
Later, the Advisor chaired a meeting regarding construction of Bunkers in the Border areas of Jammu division like Rajouri, Poonch, Samba, Kathua and Nowshera under taken at an estimated cost of Rs 500 cr. The meeting was attended by Development Commissioner, Works, SEs of Rajouri, Jammu and other senior officers of R&B department.
The meeting was told that around 891 individual bunkers have been constructed in the border districts so far. Similarly, 60 community bunkers also stand completed. It was also given out that an amount of Rs 50 cr has so far been received from the Central Government. The meeting was further informed that 90 percent of the border bunker project would be completed by ending June, 2019.
The Advisor, while directing for early completion of the project, said that necessary measures should be taken for speeding up of the construction of the border bunkers which are very important for the people living in the border areas for providing them the necessary shelter during the shelling.(KNO)