Shaheed Dweep, Jan. 12: The Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Dr. Chandra Bhushan Kumar, IAS on visit to Shaheed Dweep, inaugurated improvement of Road from Neil Kendra Bazaar to Laxmanpur, Sunset Point and improvement of road from Jetty to Sitapur today. The Secretary (Fisheries/IP&T/Art & Culture), Smt. Jyoti Kumari, IAS, officers of A&N Administration, Chief Engineer, (i/c), APWD, Shri Tej Bahadur, Pramukh, Panchayat Samiti, Prothrapur, Smt. Champa Das, ZP Member, Shri Dasarath Varma, and Pradhan, Neil Kendra, Smt. Pinkey Das were also present on the occasion.
In his address, the Chief Secretary expressed his happiness that this road improvement work has been completed in a time bound manner by APWD. He said, inauguration of any project brings immense joy among the people of an area, which, he said, indicates that the work given to an agency has been done with full dedication. He further congratulated the APWD and its engineering team for executing the project in a time bound manner despite facing numerous challenges viz. shifting men, material and machines to Shaheed Dweep. He further informed that the roads in Shaheed Dweep which needs further improvement will be taken up by APWD. The Chief Secretary informed the gathering about his first visit to Shaheed Dweep in the year 1997. He said, this Island has witnessed a sea change with good number of hotels coming up and increased tourists inflow. There is no comparison of Shaheed Dweep in terms of development then and now.
Pointing that development is important for a particular place, the Chief Secretary said, development has to be carried out in a cautious and in a balanced manner. He further mentioned that with the increase in tourist flow, the power requirement in Shaheed Dweep in future will increase. The GoI has taken a decision to replace diesel-based power generation by installing Solar Plants and Wind Energy Units in A&N Islands. He also informed the gathering about the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, a Government scheme that aims to provide free electricity to households in India. Under the scheme, households will be provided with a subsidy to install solar panels on their roofs. He said that A&N Administration is propagating this scheme and urged the PRIs to motivate the people to avail this scheme.
Earlier, the Chief Engineer, (i/c), APWD, Shri Tej Bahadur said that inauguration of the road has fulfilled the demands of the residents of Shaheed Dweep, the foundation stone for which was laid in the month of January last year.
The Chief Secretary accompanied by the senior officials of A&N Administration visited Zonal Library, Power House, Sitapur Beach, Solar Project site, Laxmanpur Beach. He also held meeting with PRIs & general public and hoteliers.
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