A 3-member team of the World Bank led by Mr Abhas Jha, Practice Manager, (Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management) South Asia Region, World Bank and comprising of Mr Deepak Singh, Lead Disaster Risk Management Specialist,World Bank and Mr Hemang Karelia, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist of World Bank presently on a two day visit to the J&K has appreciated the J&K Govt. and J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency for bringing around a dramatic turnaround in the implementation of the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project

Mr Abhas Jha, Practice Manager (Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management) South Asia Region, World Bank said this during a meeting held at SKICC Srinagar here today to review the progress of World Bank funded $ 250 million USD, JTFRP

Mr Abhas Jha of World Bank said that “ I have observed that JKERA as an organisation has certainly done something beyond the call of duty to bring dramatic turnaround in the project implementation” “He added that excellent job has been done by J&KERA under the various sectors of health, disaster management, education, livelihoods etc which will have long-term positive impact for many generations to come”

Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Chief Executive Officer, J&KERA while briefing the high level team of World Bank team about latest progress of the project said that that under the various components of JTFRP an expenditure of Rs 921 has been made till date

He added that despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020-2021 the project has shown a remarkable turnaround in the implementation. He added that during the last two years 90% of procurement and 80% of disbursements have been undertaken in the project

Earlier in the day the World Bank team visited the Composite Market Centre for Silk at Rajbagh and Composite Market Centre for Wool at Bemina, Srinagar which have been completed under the World Bank funded JTFRP under the component of Strengthening of Livelihoods of World Bank funded JTFRP. The team was informed about the vital role played by the two sub-projects in the revitalisation of the traditional Wool and Silk industry in J&K. It was said that various latest weaving and processing equipment’s procured under the project for these factories has given a big boost in production of quality silk and wool products and has directly benefited more than 15,000 families associated with these two sectors.

The Team visited the Headquarters of the Fire & Emergency Dept. at Batamallo were the senior officers of the F&ES informed that team that (03) different types of fire tenders and latest fire rescue equipment’s worth Rs 14.48 crores have been received by the Dept. from the Project Management Unit of JTFRP. It was added that these include (17No) Multipurpose Fire tenders, (09No) Regular Fire Tenders, (17No) Medium Weight Quick Response vehicles which has considerably increased the capacity of the F&ES Dept. in quickly controlling the accidental fire incidents in the UT. Mock drill and live demonstration of these various fire rescue equipment’s – Hydraulic spreader cutter/combi tools, fire Entry suits, fire proximity suits etc was made before the visiting team.

During the visit to under Construction Additional Block at Bone & Joints Hospital, Barzulla the team was briefed about the salient features of the State of Art, 120 bedded Hospital which is being constructed at a cost of Rs 89 Crores under the World Bank funded JTFRP.

Latest Fire Tenders and Fire Rescue equipments worth Rs 14.50 crores have been provided to the Fire and Emergency Services Department under the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project to help the Dept. revamp its fleet of fire tenders and strengthen its capacity to undertake the rescue work during fire accidents in a better way.

Under the component of Strengthening the Disaster Management Capacity of the World Bank funded JTFRP (17 No) Multipurpose Fire Tenders , (09No) Regular Fire Tenders , (17No) Quick Response vehicles having a total cost of Rs 12.36 crores have been provided to the Fire & Emergency Services Dept. for revamping its fleet of fire tenders across J&K

“(QRV,s) Quick Response Fire tenders vehicles provided under JTFRP have been found to be very effective in controlling the fire incidents in congested urban areas were lanes are often narrow and normal fire tenders find it hard to reach the accident spot” said Senior Divisional Officer of the F&ES Dept . He said these vehicles are equipped with latest dual fire dousing systems which are equally potent in controlling all the types of fires using water jets or foam sprays depending on the type of fire.

The Multipurpose Fire Tenders provided under the World Bank funded JTFRP have a water carrying capacity of 5000 litres and can also be loaded with 500 litres of foam. These vehicles are very vital for the timely containment of large scale fires and are also fitted with the electronic snag detection system which helps in timely rectification of any technical problem developed in the vehicle.

The fire vehicles provided under the World Bank project have been provided to fire stations in different Districts across the UT which has considerably strengthened the capacity of the F&ES Dept. to control the fire accidents.

For effective management of the rescue work during the fire accidents (06) different types of (136 No) hi-tech equipments worth Rs 2.12 Crores have also been provided to the F&ES Dept. These include Hydraulic Spreader Cutter/Combi Tools, Ramps/ Hydraulic Jacks, Fire Entry suits, Fire Proximity suits, Breathing apparatus sets and Water Jel blankets.

“Equipments like Hydraulic spreaders and Combi tools are very effective in rescuing a person stuck inside a car or an iron barricaded building during an accident” said one of the Senior Fire Officer at the Directorate of F&ES.

Further as part of the strengthening of the Infrastructure at the Fire & Emergency Services Headquarters at Batmaloo a new Administrative building and a Central Store Building is also being constructed under the Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project at a cost Rs 9.07 crores.

Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Chief Executive Officer, J&KERA/JTFRP said “ Strengthening of the various aspects of Disaster Management in UT is one of the main objectives of the World Bank funded JTFRP and with considerable infrastructural and material support provided under JTFRP I hope the Department would be able to manage the fire accidents in more professional manner and will also be able to minimise loss to property and save precious lives during accidents. .

As part of the continuous monitoring of the works Chief Executive Officer, J&KERA Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah today inspected progress of work on various infrastructure projects having a cumulative cost of Rs 235 crores being executed by the J&KERA under the various components of the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project. These sub-projects will directly benefit millions of people across J&K.

During the site inspection of work on the Construction of Pumping stations at Lalmandi, Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah was informed that the work on the sub-project is being executed as part of the Strengthening of the Urban Flood Management component of the World Bank funded JTFRP and includes the revamping of (49) Storm water pumping stations in Srinagar City which had suffered massive damages to civil structure and electro-mechanical equipment’s during floods of 2014. It was said that sub-project will benefit more than 12 lac people living in Srinagar city

The sub-project is being executed by Srinagar Municipal Corporation as PIU (Project Implementation Unit) at a cost of Rs 103 crores and involves the construction of new pump house buildings above the highest flood level recorded in 2014 and also includes the installation of new electrical and mechanical equipment’s in these pump houses.

It was added that the unique feature of the sub-project is the installation of submersible pumps which can even operate in submerged conditions. These pumping stations will also be provided with 24x7 supply of electricity and backed up with high capacity diesel set generators. These pumping stations along with the remaining pumping stations in Srinagar City are also being connected with the SCADA system which can be operated remotely from the SCADA Control Room Building which is being constructed by JKERA at Ompura,Budgam

CEO ERA asked the engineers of PIU and executing agencies to strictly adhere to quality control parameters and also ensure completion of work within the set timelines.

Dr Abid also visited the Rs 14.04 Crore Composite Market Centre of Silk and Rs 4.50 Cr Wool at Rajbagh and Bemina which have been completed under the World Bank funded JTFRP .Both of these plants have also been provided with the latest silk and wool weaving and preparatory machines like Rapier looms, 2 for 1 twisters, Boilers etc. at a cumulative cost of Rs. 28.49 Crores

It was given out that strengthening of the infrastructure in the two heritage factories has greatly helped in the revival of the traditional cottage industries in J&K and directly benefited more than 60,000 artisans associated with the traditional crafts in J&K.

CEO ERA/JTFRP also inspected the progress of work on the construction of Administrative block and central store building at Fire & Emergency Services headquarters, Batmaloo, Srinagar. The building is being constructed at a cost of Rs 9.07 crores and executed by PWD(R&B) Kashmir as Project implementation Unit.

CEO, ERA directed the R&B to strictly adhere to the social safeguard measures at site with due compliance to the project timelines

During visit to the Fire & Emergency headquarters, Batmallo various equipment’s like Proximity jackets, Cutter, combi tools, ramps, hydraulic jacks , fire entry suits, breathing apparatus sets, waterjet blankets, (17 No) Quick Response Vehicles , (17 No)Multipurpose Fire tenders , (9 No) Regular Fire Tenders at a cumulative cost of Rs 14.48 crores provided to the F&E Dept. under the World Bank funded JTFRP were shown to the CEO ERA and demonstration of these various equipments were made by on the occasion.Project will benefit entire population of the J&K

Later Dr Abid also visited the site for the construction of State of Art Additional Hospital Building at Bone & Joints Hospital, Barzulla, which is being undertaken at a cost of Rs 89 Crores .

Iftikhar Ahmad Wani, Director Technical, JTFRP informed the CEO that the considerable progress has been achieved on the construction of the superstructure of the state of art building which has G+4 structure with modern earthquake resilient technology, the upgradation involves the construction of modular operation theatres ,laminar flow system, TSSU (Theatre Sterile Supply Unit), ICU, Pre & Post Operation care wards , CSSD (Central Sterile Supply Department) , specialized laundry, pneumatic tube system and waste collection system . The sub-project will benefit almost entire population of the Kashmir Division being the only dedicated orthopaedic hospital in Kashmir Division and some parts of Jammu Division,

CEO ERA asked the NPCC (National Project Construction Corporation) which is executing work to further expedite progress of work on the project to ensure that work is completed within set timelines.

Director, Finance, JKERA, Project Manager, Hydraulic, and Project Manager, Transport also accomapined CEOERA/JTFRP during his site visit

A One Day Stakeholders workshop on “Multihazard Risk Assessment in J&K” and various web based tools developed under the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) for Strengthening of Disaster Management Capacity was organised by Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project at SKICC Srinagar

Workshop was organised with an objective to sensitize all the stakeholders about the findings of the study on “Multihazard Risk Assessment in Jammu and Kashmir” conducted under the World Bank funded JTFRP and the various virtual tools of DSS (Decision Support System) IOFS (Integrated Operational Forecasting System) DRDB (Disaster Risk Database) developed under the JTFR project for the scientific and accurate forecasting of natural disasters like Floods, Flash Floods, Avalanches and Landslides in the Natural Disaster prone Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh .

Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah (IAS), Chief Executive Officer, JKERA/JTFRP in his inaugural address highlighted the need for organising the workshop. Giving the backdrop of scenario of natural disasters in J&K Dr. Abid said that Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh owing to their geographic location are prone to various natural disasters like floods, landslides, earthquakes etc which have been occurring at frequent intervals and causing immense damage to life and property. He added that a comprehensive study on the “ Multihazard Risk Assessment In J&K” has been conducted under the World Bank funded JTFRP has been followed by the development of various web-based tools for scientific forecasting of natural disasters which include IOFS (Integrated Operational Forecasting System) , DRDB (Disaster Risk Database) and DSS (Decision Support System) which will be installed at the U.T level Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at Ompura , Budgam which is being constructed by JKERA at a cost of Rs 38.88 Crores under the World Bank funded JTFRP.

Pandurang K.Pole (IAS) Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir in his keynote address said that JKERA under the World Bank funded JTFR project has done a commendable job in the reconstruction of critical infrastructure that had been damaged during the 2014 floods in J&K. He further said that under the study on “Multihazard Risk Assessment” JTFRP has taken a comprehensive vulnerability study of all the natural disasters in J&K that would be vital to strengthening of Disaster preparedness and mitigation in J&K.

Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir added that floods of 2014 has taught us that mitigation of natural disasters in J&K needs to taken on top priority and participation of all stakeholders and public awareness is vital to achieving that objective

Muhammad Ajaz, District Development Commissioner, (IAS) said that organising of the workshop on the theme of Multihazard Risk Assessment in J&K is need of the hour as it builds our capacities in the area of disaster management and provides avenues for strengthening of stakeholder participation. He said that various web-based forecasting tools developed under JTFRP would be pivotal towards achieving

Sujit Kumar (IPS) DIG, Central, Kashmir said that coordinated effort from all the stakeholders is crucial to strengthening of resilience to natural disasters. He said law enforcement agencies are always first to respond in eventuality of a natural disaster and shared his experiences of various such incidents with the audience.

Deepak Singh, Deputy Team leader, World Bank who also joined workshop via virtual mode said that workshop will help stakeholders in the better implementation of various tools developed by JTFRP under World Bank funded project.

Nazim Zai Khan (KAS) Secretary, to Government, DMRRR hailed JTFRP for having undertaken a professional study in the field of Disaster resilience and expressed the hope that it would develop capacities of the line departments in strengthening disaster management in the U.T.

Under World Bank funded JTFRP had engaged a consultancy namely RMSI private limited for conducting a study on the “ Multihazard Risk Assessment ” in the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh which involved the physical vulnerability survey of 42,000 structures social vulnerability of 30,000 households across the two UTs and the procurement of high resolution DTM (Digital Terrain Model) for flood prone areas of the UTs.

During course of a day long workshop presentations were made by the disaster management experts of M/S RMSI private limited a consultancy which has been engaged by JTFRP for preparation of the assessment study.

Workshop was also attended by Director Planning & Coordination JTFRP, Chief Engineer R&B, Kashmir, Chief Engineer I&FC, Kashmir, Director, Kashmir JKERA, Director Technical, JTFRP, Director Finance, JKERA, Chief Engineer, Srinagar Smart City,Nodal Officer of Emergency Operations Centre, Srinagar, Officers from the Dept. of Disaster Management Relief, Rehablitation and Reconstruction, District Administrations of various Districts, Dept. of Ecology ,Environment and Remote Sensing, Academicians from University of Kashmir, NIT, SKAUST-K, Experts from the IIT, Mumbai and NIDM also joined workshop via virtual mode.

Er. Shakti Sagar, Director, Kashmir JKERA was today given a warm send off on attaining the age of superannuation from the Govt. Service after having served in different capacities in various Departments and agencies across J&K for around 36 years.

An alumni of Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu Er. Shakti Sagar completed his Bachelors in civil engineering in the year 1984 and soon after completion of his degree he joined Gammon India Limited as an engineer and worked in the company for around 18 months and gained hands on experience of field with the company.

Shakti Sagar joined R&B (PWD) as Junior Engineer in the year 1986 and his first posting was as J.E in stage-II of Chennani Hydel Power Project. In 1991 Shakti qualified the A.E examination conducted by JKPSC and was posted as A.E on Arterial Expressway Corridor project in Jammu City and he remained associated with the 2.5 km long flyover till its completion.

He was subsequently transferred and posted in Jammu Development Authority as AEE were he played key role in completion of various projects like Kala Kendra, Vikram Chowk, Bahu Plaza 2nd phase, ,renovation of Bahu fort etc

From 2001 to 2012 Shakti was posted in JKPCC were he was associated with various key infrastructure projects executed by JKPCC viz: 440 mtrs span Katha bridge at Akhnoor, 755 mtrs span 4th Tawi bridge corridor

In 2012 Er. Sagar was promoted as Executive Engineer and posted in J&KERA, Jammu which was then executing the Asian Development Bank funded JKUSDIP (Jammu and Kashmir Urban Sector Development Investment Programme). Known for his hard work and meticulous method of working Er. Shakti Sagar played a key role in the completion of flagship projects under JKUSDIP which included Construction of Vikram Chowk Flyover, Construction of car parking facility at City Chowk, Jammu .

He also served Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board where he remained associated with cable car and other developmental projects executed by the Shrine Board .In 2020 he was promoted and transferred as Superintending Enginner, PWD (R&B) Udhampur, Reasi circle .

In October,2021 Er Shakti Sagar was elevated to the post of Chief Engineer and posted as Director, Kashmir, J&KERA where he attained the age of superannuation from the Govt. service today.

Lieutenant Governor , Shri Manoj Sinha today flagged- off the first batch of 34 No ALS (All Life Support ) ambulances procured under the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project at District Hospital , Gandhinagar, Jammu.

68 ALS (All Life Support) ambulances have been procured at a cumulative cost of ₹ 24.37 under the CERC (Contingency Emergency Response) component of the World Bank funded JTFRP for the strengthening of the pre-hospital emergency services for the people living in remotest parts of J&K

These ALS ambulances are fully equipped with various lifesaving medical equipment’s like, inbuilt aswell as portable oxygen cylinders, suction pumps, ECG monitors, NIDT Syringe pump, Transport Ventilator (Portable), Defibrillator, Auto loader collapsible stretcher, Scoop –Stretcher, Spine board with straps and head blocks, wheelchair, nebuliser machine, suction system, pulse-Oximeter, Glucometer and cool and warm box for medicines and blood.

The availability of these latest ambulances in hospitals would provide the much needed pre-hospital emergency services to the population of around 15-17 lacs living in various areas far flung areas across the Union Territory.

“The availability of the All Life Support ambulance in our hospital was much needed as we did not have such a facility for the transportation of patients for specialised treatment in district or a tertiary care hospitals, Now with the availability of this facility in our hospital I am sure we will be able to save many precious lives “ said Aatta Khan resident of Kandimarg, Kulgam

“ Being located on the Srinagar- Sonmarg road we in our hospital usually witness high number of accident cases and the ALS ambulances provided to us would help in timely transportation of the seriously injured patients to the nearest tertiary care hospital thus help in saving the precious human lives “ said Dr Riyaz, Ahmad, Zonal Block Medical Officer, Gund, Ganderbal.

A Two Day Virtual Workshop on the theme of “Emergency Operation Management & The Role of Emergency Operations Centre in Emergency Management” was organized by the World Bank for the capacity building of the J&K ERA/JTFRP which has recently started the execution of work on the construction of a State of Art Rs 34.88 crore (Emergency Operations Centre) at Ompura, Budgam under the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project.

Er.Basharat Ahmad Kawoosa, Director Technical, JTFRP in his inaugural address said “The workshop has been organized at an opportune time as the work in U.T level EOC is in its initial stage and the learnings from the workshop can be incorporated in further fine tuning the design of EOC”. He said that the workshop will further build capacities of participants in the sphere of emergency operation management.

Peeyush Ramawatar Sekhsaria, Disaster Management Expert, World Bank while speaking about the objectives of the workshop said that World Bank as part of strengthening the technical capacity to respond effectively and timely to an impending crisis under the ongoing disaster recovery projects in J&K and Uttrakhand has funded the establishment of the EOC (Emergency Operations Centers) in the U.T and State respectively. He said the workshop is being organized for the E.A’s (Executing Agencies) UDRP & JTFRP to help them in the finalization of good design for their respective EOCs.

He also introduced the resource persons for the workshop Balaji Singh Chawhan, Senior Disaster Management Expert, Kishan Sanku , Disaster Management Expert, and Faisal Illiyas, Disaster Management Expert professional expert from the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Balaji Singh Chawhan, Sr. Disaster Management Expert having an experience of more than 30 years in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction with USAID, UNDP, UNICEF, etc in the session on the Concept and Structure of Ideal EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) said “EOC is a physical location where information & resources are coordinated to manage the emergency situations effectively”. Chawhan said that the EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) has to be structurally stable, effectively manageable and must have operational integrity”. He also delved at length on the subject of MAC – Multi Agency Coordination which is pivotal to the effective management of the emergency situations and on the ideal organizational structure of the EOC (Emergency Operations Centre)

Kishan Sanku, Disaster Management, Consultant in his session on the early warning systems, public information management, communication coordination, search & rescue, relief operations, and logistical arrangements briefed participants about the various latest tools of communication like, Satellite phones, HAM radio , VSAT, Satellite based Mobile Data Voice Terminal (SBMDVT) ,Cell Broadcasting, National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM) which have been found to be very useful in restoring the lines of communication in case of several hard hitting natural disasters like cyclones , floods etc.

Faisel Illiyas, Disaster Management professional from the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority in his session on the technological solutions to the emergency operations made a technical presentation on the latest tools used in the state of Andhra Pradesh for the effective operation of the EOC which include: One touch video system, WEBEOC, Weather warning systems, Unified Command for Action, Data storage and its retrieval for future use, Geographic Information System Lab, Integrated Operational Dashboard, Forecasting and Warning systems, Wireless Emergency Alert Broadcast,

The two-day workshop was attended virtually by Er. Shakti Sagar, Director, Kashmir, J&KERA,,Er. Amir Ali, Nodal Officer, EOC, more than 80 participants from J&KERA,JTFRP various stakeholder agencies and line departments like U.T DRF, I&FC, SMC, Fire & Emergency Depts as well as the officers and consultants of UDRP (Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project).

Workshop concluded with Q&A sessions in which the participants asked various questions to the resource persons about the design requirements of EOC and various operational challenges in smooth functioning of EOC.

Soon after the laying of the foundation stone of Rs 34.88 crore State of Art , U.T level Emergency Operations Centre and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Control Building by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India in presence of the Shri Manoj Sinha, Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of J&K on 22nd , Nov, 2021, J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency has immediately started work on the project which is being executed under the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project.

To review progress of work on the prestigious project, Dr, Syed Abid Rasheed Shah , Chief Executive Officer, JKERA/JTFRP today conducted the site visit along with the senior officers of JKERA and JTFRP conducted the site inspection.

Er. Shakti Sagar, Director, J&KERA, Kashmir informed the CEO, ERA/JTFRP that the Emergency Operations Building constructed over a 80 kanals of land at Ompura, Budgam would comprise G+1 floors having a total plinth area of 33,980 and will also house the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Centre building that would be the central control room for the 80 dewatering pumping stations in Srinagar City for scientifically controlling and managing all the pump stations in the City using I.T enabled services

Er. Shakti Sagar, Director, J&KERA, Kashmir informed the CEO, ERA/JTFRP that the Emergency Operations Building constructed over a 80 kanals of land at Ompura, Budgam would comprise G+1 floors having a total plinth area of 33,980 and will also house the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Centre building that would be the central control room for the 80 dewatering pumping stations in Srinagar City for scientifically controlling and managing all the pump stations in the City using I.T enabled s

Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs in presence of Shri Manoj Sinha, Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of J&K today e-inaugurated various projects worth Rs.130.49 crores under the health, education, urban infrastructure, disaster management sectors which have been executed under the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project in the Union Territory of J&K at SKICC Srinagar.

These projects have been completed by J&KERA under the 250 million USD World Bank funded JTFRP (Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project)

The projects e-inaugurated under the Health sector include supply of several advanced medical equipments to different hospitals across J&K like hi-tech 128 slice C.T Scan machines , Ultrasonic Advance frequency cutting coagulation machines Diathermy & vessel sealing machines, High Flow Oxygen devices, Hydraulic operation theatre beds, mobile X- Ray machines etc

The supply of these various high –end critical care medical equipment’s to various hospitals would strengthen the health care system in J&K and provide people with the best medical care at their nearest govt. health facility and also reduce the referrals of patients to the tertiary care hospitals.

Projects e-inaugurated under education sector included the 31 No school building’s constructed across J&K at a cumulative cost of Rs 24.76 Cr apprx. mostly in the remote areas of Poonch, Rajouri, Nowshera, Udhampur, Sunderbani, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Anantnag, Mandi, R.S pura, Srinagar and Jammu. These school buildings have been constructed using the BaLA (Building as a learning aid) architecture to make school buildings attractive for children and to aid students in the learning process.

The projects e-inaugurated under Urban Infrastructure sector include the construction of Rigid Concrete Pavement road from Peerbagh to Humhama Chowk at a cost of Rs 8.0 crore to make the flood prone portion of the road leading upto Srinagar Airport flood resilient and resistant to winter vagaries.

Rs 12.80 crore Nadroo Storm Water Drainage project in uptown Srinagar which has provided relief from frequent urban flooding during rainy seasons and winters to several habitations like nadru, nadirgund etc

To strengthen the capability of the PRI s to meet the emergency posed due to any natural disaster search and rescue equipments worth Rs 18.60 Cr have been provided to Panchayat Raj Institutions in different districts of U.T of J&K & Ladakh. The provision of these search & rescue equipments would equip the first responders with the much needed wherewithal to meet any eventuality at community level.

Dr.Syed Abid Rasheed Shah gave a detailed presentation about physical & financial achievements made in the implementation of the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project.

One major achievement of the JTFR project has been enlistment of the Srinagar city in the UNESCO World Creative Cities Network . Srinagar is one of the 49 cities World wide to figure in the coveted list in the category of Arts and Crafts.

Shri Atal Duloo , Additional Chief Secretary ,Finance J&K, Shri Niteshwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor , J&k and other senior officers of U T administration were also present on the occasion.

Srinagar has made it to the coveted list of United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Arts and Crafts for the year 2021.

The Dossier for the UNESCO creative cities network list had been prepared under the Restoration & Strengthening of Livelihoods component of the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project. The preparation of the Dossier was started under Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project in the year 2018 and a consultancy namely (Intach- Drona JV) was hired for the purpose after undertaking the consultation process with all the concerned stakeholders like Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Department of Industries & Commerce, Department of Handicrafts, Artisans & Craftsmen, trade bodies etc

“It’s a moment of immense satisfaction for the artisan community as the enlisting of Srinagar in UNESCO Creative Cities Network would bring Srinagar on the international platform and expand markets for our crafts” says Mehmooda an artisan associated with crewel cluster at Noorbagh,Srinagar.

“The designation of Srinagar City in UNESCO Creative cities would give a big push to marketing of Kashmir as a major tourist destination globally and it is expected that more and more tourists across would visit Kashmir in future and give a much needed flip to tourist industry in valley” said Ashiq Khurro associated with tourist industry

Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Chief Executive Officer JKERA/JTFRP said that it is a moment of immense satisfaction for all of us that only three cities at National level have made it to the UNESCO list and Srinagar is one of them” . He said that “Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor, J&K Shri Manoj Sinha has taken a personal interest in the matter and it’s because of his guidance that this unique recognition has been achieved” .CEO ERA/JTFRP added that under the World Bank funded, JTFRP efforts were being made vigorously since 2019 to bring our arts and crafts on the international platform so that our artisans and crafts get the credit and recognition .It has been collective effort of the various departments with Dept. of Industries & Commerce playing the major role along with Srinagar Municipal Corporation, and Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project.

“It is very heartening for the entire World Bank team that Srinagar has been able to bag a position in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network list under the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project” said Mr Deepak Singh ,Deputy Team Leader World Bank for JTFRP

Iftikhar Hakim, Director, Planning & Coordination JTFRP said that its is a moment of rejoice for the all the citizens of Srinagar City and stakeholders particularly Artisans and distinction has been achieved due to the tireless efforts of all the stakeholders who continued their hardwork despite not being able to get to the list in our first attempt in 2019. “We reworked on the Dossier this year and redrafted Dossier had been submitted by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. Hardwork and perseverance of all the stakeholders has been paid in the end with the Srinagar finally making it to the coveted list” Iftikhar Hakim said.

Mehmood Ahmad Shah, Director Handicrafts & Handlooms, said “Main aim of the initiative is to glorify all the Artisans and as part of the promotion of our arts and crafts we are adopting a multipronged brand strategy which includes an ideal market mix of Handmade with Heart, Authenticity, Testing and G.I tagging of various crafts.

Salim Beigh, Convener, INTACH private limited a consultancy which has prepared a Dossier said “ Every City has its uniqueness in creative domain and UNESCO cities Network is an initiative to bring unique creative aspects on a global platform” He also said that under the Dossier we have made various commitments which are to be fulfilled and continuous assessment of these need to be followed up