'Centre stands firmly behind J&K govt, to usher in development

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today asserted that the Centre will stand behind the Mufti government on all fronts and help in changing the picture of Jammu and Kashmir by ushering in development.
"We have the government in J&K with Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed and I want to assure them that Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre will firmly stand behind the government," he told a public rally after laying the foundation stone for construction on river Ravi at Lakhanpur belt here.
The Union Minister of Road, Transport and Shipping, stated that his government's efforts aim at getting rid of poverty, hunger and unemployment in the state.

"We want to help farmers and provide jobs to unemployed youth and change the picture of Jammu and Kashmir", he said.
Flanked by Union Minister Jitendra Singh and PWD Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari, Gadkari said,"I want to assure you (people of J&K) that I will come here again and review the projects from time to time".
Underlining the various development projects for the state by his ministry, he said that Jammu-Akhnoor road will be upgraded to four lane road and extended to Poonch.

The Parimpora-Uri road has been approved and we want to have Jammu a bypass. Once the tunnels are constructed, the road connectivity to Leh and Ladakh will be a round-the-year affair, he said.

"We will ensure equal development in all the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir. We will fully support the government here," he said.
Gadkari lamented that, "Even after 65 years of democracy, large number of the villages are still not connected by roads, no power or water supply and poor educational setup".