Jammu, May 29: Chairman DSSP and former minister Chaudhary Lal Singh on Monday termed the inauguration of Jammu Zoo as “a moment of Dogra pride and its cultural history”.
“The very name of the Zoo after the name of the king Jambu Lochan of this erstwhile state where goat and lion were spotted drinking water together in the same pond historically signifies the pluralistic cultural history of the Dogras,” Singh said in a statement.
“As a forest minister, I started with this ambitious project with lots of aspirations but the original project has been unfortunately curtailed by some vested interest in the process, but finally opened for the public after lots of attempts to sabotage the same,” he said, adding, “I personally extend my gratitude to LG Manoj Sinah for its inauguration although it would have been inaugurated very earlier and in its original form.”
I hope that the opening of the zoo will mark the dawn of new business opportunities for the people of Jammu and would be a grand addition in the tourist circuit of this part of Himalyan state, the former minister said.
“I am extremely happy to see its opening and feeling the same as a farmer feels after seeing his crop getting ripened for the final yield. My commitment for the people of Jammu is always there and again assure that I will tirelessly and fearlessly work for their genuine issues and hence assure that the rightful share of Dogras is not swindled by anyone,” Lal Singh said.
He said the idea behind the zoo was to attract more tourists for Jammu and to provide another attraction to the yatries of Mata Vaishno Devi. “It will also serve as a knowledge fountain for our young generation to sensitise them about the importance of our floura and founa and how important is to protect our natural resources. I would extend my personal gratitude to the entire team of all the line departments who worked tirelessly in the entire journey of this project from its conception to its final delivery for the public welfare,” he said.
“I also appealed to the Union Minister Transport Nitin Gadkari to ask the field functionaries of NHAI to save as much as possible the green plants, which I as a forest minister planted on both sides of the national highway with very hard and tough efforts,” Ch Lal Singh said, adding that there is an immediate need of launching a massive drive of the plantation en-route from Lakhanpur to Banihal to restore its original beauty and glory.
