Title - Panthers Party wants Metro service for Jammu

Jammu:
Harsh Dev Singh, leader of Panthers Legislature Party today demanded that the metro service be launched in Jammu as the city fulfills the eligibility criteria laid down by the Centre.Speaking during the Zero Hour in the Assembly, Harsh Dev said the Centre had announced in January last year that metro service will be provided in cities with the population of more than 15 lakh. He said Jammu district had a population of 15, 26, 406 as per the 2011 Census and hence qualified for the metro service.He said Jammu city had spread up to Vijaypur, Nagrota, RS Pura and Akhnoor.Singh said the state government should immediately take up the issue with the Centre so that early steps could be taken to initiate the project. He said vehicular traffic in the city had become unmanageable. He said every year 40,000 new vehicles were added in Jammu district which further compounded the traffic woes of the city. He said repeated announcements by the government had proved a farce.

He said if the traffic issue was not taken seriously it could assume alarming proportions and create great hardship and severe problems for the general public.

Singh said Srinagar had already been provided mono rail service which plied between Baramulla and Qaziquand with further extension up to Banihal. He said the said facility was provided despite the fact that the population of Srinagar district was only 12, 69, 751 as per the 2011 Census.

Singh said the launch of rail service in Kashmir to provide alternate commuter services in the Valley and to ease the pressure on local transport was welcome, but the case of Jammu should not be given a differential treatment.