Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday hoisted the tricolor in Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar on Independence Day amid tight security measures.
The Lt Governor inspected the parade and took salute at an impressive march past of the contingents comprising of J&K Police, Security forces, Schools Students, besides Brass & Pipe bands of J&K Police and the BSF.
He felicitated and handed over cash prizes to the winners of the national anthem singing competition. He also felicitated the contingents and groups for best march past and cultural items.
“As we celebrate the freedom and the spirit of unity, let us honor and remember the countless sacrifices made by our valiant freedom fighters and martyrs,” Sinha said in his I-Day speech.
He said there has been a significant decrease in violence in Jammu and Kashmir, marked by the absence of organized stone pelting and hartal/bandh incidents.
“The new wave of development, increased voter turnout in elections, and the almost complete cessation of indoctrination of locals have frustrated the biggest sponsor of terrorism, our neighboring country (Pakistan). They, struggling for even two meals a day, now want to spread unrest in the Jammu region by sending foreign terrorists, who have carried out heinous acts. We have lost brave officers, soldiers, and civilians. Our hearts go out to their families. I salute their martyrdom. We have given a free hand to the J&K Police and security forces and want to assure the people of Jammu & Kashmir and the nation that we have intensified our efforts to crush terror. The people of Jammu have fought against terrorism with vigor before, and this time too, they will help in ending it,” he said.
He said the administration and the security forces will never allow the neighbouring country to revive terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Lieutenant Governor said security forces are committed to dismantling terrorism and terror networks from the soil of Jammu and Kashmir.
He hailed Jammu and Kashmir Police for bagging scores of gallantry medals stating that police are professionally working on multiple fronts.
On investments in J&K, Sinha said UT has received 6,934 investment proposals worth Rs 1.26 lakh Crores with projected employment generating potential of 4.74 lakh.
“Industrial units with an investment of Rs 6600 crore have started production. Groundwork for Investments worth Rs. 18,185 crore has started and units with the investment worth about Rs 10,000 crore will become operational in this financial year. The New Industrial Scheme is ending in September this year but on the basis of talks with the Government of India, I want to assure all the enterprises and entrepreneurs that this scheme will definitely be extended for at least one year. 46 new industrial estates are coming up and the New Startup Policy, 2024-27, shall provide much needed fiscal and non-fiscal support to startups, thus spearheading the rise of Jammu & Kashmir entrepreneurs in the National and Global Startup ecosystem. DPIIT registered startups increased to 825 in 2024 with 296 women-led startups and a total of 1600 startups have been registered with EDI,” he said.
Referring to tourism, Lt Governor said after the successful G20 Tourism Working Group meeting last year, the number of foreign tourists has increased by two and a half times.
“Events like Miss World pre-event, Formula-4 car racing, and freestyle football at Lal Chowk have helped establish the image of the new Jammu and Kashmir globally. The tourism sector has witnessed unprecedented growth. More than 2.11 crores tourist visits were recorded in 2023 as compared to 1.13 crores and 1.88 crores in years 2021 and 2022 respectively. Besides, tourists from abroad numbered 55,000 in 2023, a 300% increase from the previous figures, which reflects that Jammu and Kashmir is gaining popularity as an international tourist destination. In the current year, 10,869,535 tourist visits have been recorded upto 30th June 2024,” he added.
The LG said for the first time, Amarnath cave shrine and Gurez were connected to the power grid.
The LG said that in 2019, J&K Bank was in losses and with hectic efforts, today, the institution is profit-earning.
“This institution is no longer confined to a few people but it’s a peoples’ bank now,” he added.