Director General of Police DK Pandey on Saturday visited Madhuban situated at the base of famous Parasnath hills to explore possibilities of developing the most revered seat of Jainism that incidentally is also known for heavy Naxal presence. The efforts being currently made and coined as ‘Parasnath Development Plan’ envisages development around the famous hills to give a facelift to the area. Parasnath is flocked by the followers of Jainism and tourists because of the bewitching landscape mixed with divine feeling. The top-cop lend ear to the suggestions put forth by locals for the development of the area. The DGP said that around 35 villages surrounding Parasnath hills have been selected for development and the visiting team received suggestions from villagers for making the region, a better tourist spot on all parameters.
The visiting team included Giridih Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Verma, ADG (Operation) S N Pradhan, ADG (Jharkhand Armed Police) KN Chowbey, IG (STF) RK Malik, IG (CRPF) RK Mishra and IG (Bokaro Zone) Tadasha Mishra. Points of focus discussed during the visit included removing road divider on Madhuban road, curbing illegal sale of liquor, shifting animal slaughter houses elsewhere, linking the tourist place to Barakar River to address scarcity of water, expediting construction of Ring Road, taking up construction of strategic roads on priority basis, laying 27-km-long parikrama path for pilgrims with water points at designated spots, bathrooms and toilets on parikrama path, vendor zone, watershed scheme for providing irrigation facilities to 25 villages, skill development and facilitating bank finances to encourage entrepreneurship.
The visiting team was also apprised with problems that is affecting total development of the area. The problems highlighted includes defunct infrastructure created for silk production, no shuttle facility between Parasnath Railway Station and Madhuban among others. According to sources, locals emphasised on speedy construction of roads, proper electricity supply, ban on liquor and non-vegetarian food, arrangement of drinking water, refreshment facilities and toilets along the Parikrama path to increase tourist foot falls. A visit by Chief Secretary Rajiv Gauba is also on cards, said a source present in the meeting.