Jammu, 02 August (H.S.): MLA Pawan Kumar Gupta today asserted that every promise made to the people would be fulfilled before the completion of his tenure, while claiming that Udhampur is on the verge of witnessing unprecedented development.

Addressing a press conference, here today, he said that several major projects related to roads, lanes, drinking water, healthcare, parks, parking facilities and other civic infrastructure have already been sanctioned, with the tendering process for most of them completed.

Gupta said that tenders for road and lane works were floated well in advance, but by the time funds for blacktopping were released last year, the monsoon had already set in. Heavy rainfall caused extensive damage to roads and public infrastructure, following which the Government sanctioned Rs 20–25 crore exclusively for restoration works and these funds are currently being used to repair damaged roads, he explained. He added that this year’s budget has earmarked Rs 6.5 crore for lane improvement works while 121 lanes have already been identified for development.

Speaking about the AMRUT 2.0 water supply project, the MLA said works worth Rs 124 crore have been approved. A tender worth Rs 32 crore has already been awarded, while projects worth Rs 68 crore were allotted in January.

Gupta further informed that tenders worth Rs 4.5–5 crore have been floated for fresh blacktopping works. He attributed delays to fluctuations in bitumen prices caused by the Iran- US conflict.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar