* Calls for people’s participation to preserve manuscripts
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 4: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a meeting of the Multi-Disciplinary Committee (MDC) on Traffic Management Systems for Jammu and Srinagar cities to review plans and proposals aimed at easing congestion, strengthening road safety, and improving overall urban mobility in the twin capital cities.
The meeting was attended by senior administrative and police officers, including Additional Chief Secretaries of Tourism and Public Works Departments; Principal Secretary, Home; Commissioner Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD); Divisional Commissioner, Jammu/Kashmir; Inspector General of Police, Traffic; Secretary, Transport; Deputy Inspectors General of Traffic, Jammu/Kashmir; Senior Superintendents of Police, Traffic, Srinagar/Jammu; Commissioners of Municipal Corporations, Jammu and Srinagar; Vice Chairman, Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA); Vice-Chairman, Jammu Development Authority (JDA); Director, Urban Local Bodies, besides officers from other concerned departments.
Reviewing the progress, the Chief Secretary impressed upon the departments of Housing & Urban Development, Traffic Police, and the Municipal Corporations to move towards ground-level execution of the identified projects after finalisation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and completion of other statutory and procedural requirements. He directed the departments to issue necessary notifications and amend rules wherever required to facilitate timely implementation and strict enforcement of traffic management measures.
The Chief Secretary observed that since the projects have already been identified in consultation with the Divisional Administrations, it was now imperative to begin implementation by making appropriate budgetary provisions, particularly as the budget exercise is currently underway. He also stressed the need for notifying changes in traffic routes, no-parking zones, and no-honking areas to ensure adequate public awareness and compliance.
Principal Secretary, Home Department, Chandraker Bharti, suggested that all approved traffic management projects be mapped on the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) platform to enable effective monitoring and tracking of their progress.
Commissioner Secretary, H&UDD, Mandeep Kaur, while outlining the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the MDC, detailed the components of the comprehensive traffic management plan for both cities being implemented here. She stated that an efficient traffic management system envisages the strengthening of the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), development of rotaries, junctions and T-points, and integration with Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) for centralized traffic monitoring.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary impressed upon the Culture Department to actively involve people and encourage them to come forward for the identification, digitization, and preservation of rare manuscripts for posterity under the Government of India’s flagship programme Mission Gyan Bharatam.
Chairing a high-level review meeting on the implementation of the Mission in the Union Territory, the Chief Secretary emphasized that public participation is critical for safeguarding India’s rich manuscript heritage, much of which is privately held or housed in religious and traditional institutions.
The Chief Secretary underlined the need for intensive awareness programmes, to be conducted with the support of professionals and individuals who have already contributed to manuscript preservation efforts. He also called for active involvement of religious heads and civil society organisations and SHGs noting that a significant number of valuable manuscripts are preserved at religious places across the UT.
Highlighting the significance of the task, the Chief Secretary stressed the importance of capacity building of field officers engaged in survey and monitoring. He directed that a designated supervisory officer be appointed in each block to oversee the process. Drawing parallels with the successful Mission YUVA initiative, he advised adopting a similar technology-driven approach to ensure a UT-wide household survey through an online platform. He further instructed the Deputy Commissioners to identify competent personnel to carry out this delicate assignment.
Speaking on the occasion, Principal Secretary, Culture, Brij Mohan Sharma, informed that Mission Gyan Bharatam aims to digitize one crore manuscripts nationwide to establish a National Digital Repository of Indian Knowledge Systems, ensuring seamless knowledge sharing and long-term preservation of India’s intellectual legacy.
Outlining the progress so far, Director, Archives, Archaeology & Museums, K.K. Sidha, apprised the meeting that 33,858 manuscripts have already been identified from Government and semi-Government institutions, religious establishments, and individual custodians. He added that a special household survey titled ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ is being planned to trace and digitize manuscripts with the consent of their owners, following the goal of ‘Har Din-Ek Gin’, targeting coverage of at least one panchayat per day.
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