Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday inaugurated the Jambu Zoo at Nagrota near here.
The Lt Governor said; “This much awaited addition to the tourist destinations of J&K UT, spread over 70 hactres area in the phase-1, was taken up under Languishing Project and it shall attract both local residents and tourists visiting Union Territory.”
The scenic beauty around the first-of-its-kind full-fledged zoo in the UT will make it a unique tourist destination and has the potential to boost tourism in the region, he added.
The Lt Governor announced free entry for all in the Jambu Zoo for One month. He also announced that the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams will be dedicated to the people on 8th June.
At the inaugural event, the Lt Governor spoke on the developmental journey of J&K and highlighted the efforts to develop better facilities for the locals as well as for the visiting tourists and improving the quality of living for all.
“J&K UT is at a cusp in its development trajectory. We have broken fresh grounds to enable faster growth. We are now at a stage where we need to accelerate this growth, make it more inclusive and convert the UT’s potential into reality,” said the Lt Governor.
“With successful conduct of G20 Summit, J&K UT has entered a new era of opportunities. It is a rare moment and world is applauding J&K’s saga of development. We must work together to keep pace with rest of the states and contribute to the significant task of Viksit Bharat 2047,” the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor reiterated the commitment of J&K Government to empower every section of the society, especially the youth in achieving the goals of sustainable and inclusive development.
“Our youth are the architects of New Jammu Kashmir and we are seeing steady rise in youth entrepreneurs, who are working with dedication to build a prosperous society and preserve our civilizational-cultural values and our commitment to peace,” he observed.
Within just one year, more than 82,000 business units have been established, providing 2.85 lakh youth with direct employment opportunities. Under Mission Youth, we have extended handholding to 70,000 young boys and girls to become self-reliant, said the Lt Governor.
He said under the Languishing Project, J&K UT has successfully completed 1500 projects which were pending for the last 10 to 20 years.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, called for exploring all the possibilities to make Jambu Zoo one of the finest in India.
Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary, Forest Department and Suresh Kumar Gupta, Chief Wildlife Warden, J&K, gave a detailed briefing on the key highlights of the Jambu Zoo.