DM Poonch reviews security scenario, infrastructure development in border areas

POONCH: District Magistrate Poonch Ashok Kumar Sharma today chaired a crucial meeting of the District Level Standing Committee (DLSC) on Effective Border Management. The meeting, held in the Conference Hall of Dak Bungalow, Poonch, was convened to review the existing security arrangements and accelerate infrastructure development in areas close to the Line of Control (LoC) with the aim to strengthen coordination between the security forces and the civilian population residing in border areas.

Speaking at the meeting, the DM conducted a comprehensive review of the status of border bunkers, power supply scenario, water supply and civic amenities.  He stressed on electrification of left out villages, if any, provision of solar lighting and the development of PMAY houses and other essential facilities in border areas. The officers from the Army, BSF and other paramilitary and intelligence agencies briefed the District Magistrate on the prevailing security scenario along the LoC.

Additionally, the Committee discussed the rising concern of drug abuse in the district. Security agencies and civil functionaries gave a brief on the strategies being implemented to curb the drug menace. The meeting also took stock of the pace of bunker construction in the vulnerable border belts and explored ways to resolve the bottlenecks in the implementation of critical security-related infrastructure.

Among others present in the meeting included SSP Poonch Shafket Hussain Bhat; Additional Deputy Commissioner Tahir Mustafa Malik; Chief Planning Officer Mohammad Iqbal Zargar; Assistant Commissioner Revenue Mohammad Sayeed; Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Mohammad Parvaiz; Tehsildar Haveli, Azhar Majid; Tehsildar Mandi, Ashfaq Hussain, Executive Engineers, AD FCS&CA, along with representatives from the Army, BSF and other security and intelligence agencies.