Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Transport, Information Technology, Youth Services & Sports, Satish Sharma, today visited Kathua and convened an exclusive interactive session with the public at Brahman Sabha, Kathua.

While addressing on the occasion, the Minister spoke on a wide range of public issues and shared the government’s vision and roadmap for holistic development of Jammu & Kashmir, with special focus on youth empowerment, infrastructure development and improved public services.

The Minister emphasized that sustained efforts are being made to strengthen the governance and accelerate development across all sectors in the region.

Highlighting key initiatives, he announced that new bus services will be started connecting various religious places to facilitate the pilgrims and promote tourism. He further informed that 10 new buses will be added in every district to augment the public transport and improve connectivity.

Underscoring the government’s focus on employment generation, the Minister stated that avenues are being created to provide employment opportunities to around 50,000 youth. He also highlighted that the present administration is working in a mission mode to make Jammu and Kashmir a hub of sports excellence he added that two modern stadiums will be developed with facilities meeting the standards required for hosting IPL matches.

The Minister stressed that the government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against drug abuse and is waging a sustained war the dreaded menace. He called upon the youth and society at large to actively support the ongoing anti-drug campaign.

Speaking on education reforms, the Minister informed that the process related to CUET for college students of Jammu and Kashmir has been eased to ensure greater convenience and accessibility for the aspiring students.

Reaffirming his commitment to public welfare, the Minister said that he welcomes the public feedback and will continue to work on addressing the people’s concerns in a responsive and time-bound manner.