Border villages are frontline of India’s identity: LG Sinha

Kathua, Aug 20: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said border villages are not India’s last villages but its first villages and the frontline of the nation’s identity and development, while handing over benefits under several government schemes to local families and appointment letters to youth.

Addressing the residents from six strategic villages under the Vibrant Village Programme-Phase-2 (VVP-2) — Karol Krishna, Rathua, Gujjar Chak, Gajnal, Bobiya, and Kadiyala — the Lieutenant Governor noted that for decades, the word “border” carried a sense of distance and these villages were far from the priorities of governance, but under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, border villages have been brought into the mainstream of development, adding that when the story of India’s development is written, its first chapter should begin in villages like Karol Krishna, Rathua, Gajnal, Bobiya, Kadiyala and Gujjar Chak, where India’s border breathes and the tricolour flutters.

Highlighting progress since 2019, the LG said that all 216 border villages of Kathua district are now connected by road, with full electrification achieved and telecommunication and television access, once limited, now reaching every household. These figures, he said, are not just numbers and reports but represent real change in people’s lives. 

Sinha shared data highlighting that poverty levels have declined sharply, migration to cities has halved, rural incomes have risen by 30 per cent, employment opportunities have expanded with unemployment reduced to nearly half of earlier levels, and more than 2,000 individual and community bunkers have been constructed for the safety of border families, adding that the goal should be that the entire population moves above the poverty line.

The Lieutenant Governor also commended the role of Nari Shakti in transforming border economies, stating that under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, over 1,300 self-help groups have been formed benefiting more than 12,000 families, with women engaged in tailoring, embroidery, crafts, and small enterprises strengthening both household and village economies. He urged the young generation of border villages to dream as big as those in metro cities, noting that government schools now have improved facilities, digital classrooms, vocational training and full academic sessions, adding that this is not a minor change but a generational transformation.

The Lieutenant Governor outlined four key resolves for the development of border villages — self-reliance by connecting villages not just to roads but to markets and promoting horticulture and dairy cooperatives; youth empowerment by creating opportunities in agriculture, tourism, defence-support services, and crafts; improved health facilities by strengthening healthcare and tele-medicine connectivity; and robust security infrastructure by enhancing coordination between civil administration and armed forces, stating that development and security are not separate goals but two pillars of the same goal, and only a secure village can become a prosperous village, and only prosperous villages can build a self-reliant and developed India.

Sinha called upon the youth and families of Karol Krishna and neighbouring villages to take responsibility for shaping their future, stating that their ancestors held this soil through difficulties for many decades after Independence and now it is their responsibility to take it forward. “Resources are now in your hands, and if there is any shortfall anywhere, it will be addressed immediately,” he said. 

The LG said the big question is how far they will take their village, whether Karol Krishna will be known only as a border village or as a border village that produces the country’s finest youth, and assured all families that the light of development will reach every home. The Vibrant Villages Programme is a national resolve, and border villages will not remain behind, as they are India’s ‘first name’ and the frontline from where India becomes visible, he said.

During his visit to the Karol Krishna Border Out Post (BOP), the Lieutenant Governor interacted with the Jawans and commended their steadfast commitment to securing the nation’s borders and their exceptional service during Operation Sindoor, emphasising the need for continuous vigilance to disrupt and neutralise any hostile attempts by the enemy.

Among those present were Advocate Vijay Kumar, Member of Legislative Assembly from Hiranagar; Shaleen Kabra, Additional Chief Secretary, Jal Shakti Department; Ashwani Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Power Development Department; Bhim Sen Tuti, IGP Jammu; Asif Jalal, IG BSF; M Raju, Commissioner Secretary, GAD; Vikramjit Singh, Commissioner Secretary Industries & Commerce; Sarmad Hafeez, Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department; R. Alice Vaz, Commissioner Secretary to Government, Planning and Information; Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Mohammad Aijaz, Secretary, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj; Amitava Chatterjee, MD & CEO, J&K Bank; Rajesh Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Kathua; senior officials and people from different walks of life.