Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth ₹32,000 crore in Jammu & Kashmir.
The projects relate to several sectors including health, education, rail, road, aviation, petroleum, and civic infrastructure among others.
The prime minister inaugurated permanent campuses of IIM Jammu, IIM Visakhapatnam and IIM Bodh Gaya. He also inaugurated Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) - a skill training institute on advanced technologies in Kanpur. In a major boost to the education sector, PM Modi dedicated to the nation permanent campus of IIT Bhilai, IIT Tirupati, IISER Tirupati, IIITDM Kurnool; academic and residential complex in IIT Patna and IIT Ropar; two permanent campuses of Central Sanskrit University - at Devprayag (Uttarakhand) and at Agartala (Tripura). All these educational infrastructure projects are worth ₹13,375 crore.
To boost healthcare services in Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister inaugurated the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Vijaypur (Samba), Jammu. The institute is being established under the Central sector scheme Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. Built at a cost of ₹1,660 crore and in an area spanning over 227 acres, AIIMS Jammu is equipped with facilities like 720 beds, medical college with 125 seats, nursing college with 60 seats, and AYUSH Block with 30 beds among others.
Prime Minister Modi also green-lighted several rail projects in Jammu & Kashmir including the new rail line between Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan which spans 48 kilometres and the newly electrified Baramulla-Srinagar-Banihal-Sangaldan section. India's longest transportation tunnel T-50 (12.77 Km) lies in this portion between Khari-Sumber.
However, a railway line connecting the Kashmir Valley to the rest of the country remains a work in progress.
The prime minister laid the foundation stone of key road projects including two packages (44.22 kms) of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway connecting Jammu to Katra; phase two for four-laning of Srinagar Ring Road; five packages for upgrading the 161 km long Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri stretch of NH-01; and the construction of Kulgam Bypass & Pulwama bypass on NH-444. The two packages of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, once completed, will facilitate the visit of pilgrims to the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi, and will also boost economic development in the region.
Besides, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of a new terminal building at Jammu Airport. Spread over 40,000 square metres, the new terminal building will cater to about 2000 passengers during peak hours. The new terminal building will also be environment friendly.
The prime minister also laid the foundation stone for a project to develop a petroleum depot at Jammu at a cost of about ₹677 crore.
