Basic facilities to all J

Jammu, Jan 4 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today has said that his government had taken short term and medium term measures to take the development process to all areas with focus on hitherto neglected villages and habitations.

Addressing a large public meeting in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Minister claimed that in the next four to five years, each village in the state will be connected by road and have a school, hospital, power and drinking water facilities. ''I am working to build a Jammu&Kashmir where education was within the reach of every child and no patient dies in absence of medical facility, Mr Azad said adding that his government will concentrate on removing economic and educational disparity between villages and cities.

He said that under the long term measures, roads, power and drinking water schemes are taken up throughout the state.

''Attention was focused on providing facilities at village level so that people in far off places did not have to travel long distances for amenities like schools and hospitals,'' Mr Azad said adding that unlike in the previous governments, his thrust was on the development of backward and remote areas.

''There were countless villages in the state that did not have basic amenities like electricity, drinking water and roads and people, especially women, at such places suffer on account of absence of facilities,'' Mr Azad said.

He said that a new and comprehensive development strategy is being adopted by the government for the development of the state. The development strategy formulated by the state government in tandem with the centre was focused on extending basic amenities to remote villages that lagged behind in matters of development, Mr Azad added.

UNI VBH PDT KP2014