Himachal CM announces BDO for Palampur

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced the opening of a Block Development Office in Palampur of Kangra district. Addressing the people at Palampur Holi fair on Wednesday, he said the government will address the parking problem in Palampur by creating adequate parking infrastructure near the bus stand.

He also spoke about developing Palampur as an IT hub to promote employment opportunities in the region.

The Chief Minister said the state government is developing Kangra district as a tourism capital to help create jobs for the youth of the region. Religious tourism will also be promoted in a big way in the district, he added.

Apart from building a heliport in Kangra, the expansion process of existing Kangra airport in Gaggal is on the anvil which will benefit not only Kangra district but also the entire state, Sukhu said.

''I belong to a family that has seen all ups and downs of life and that is why I am trying to serve the needy and common man as a Chief Minister,'' said Sukhu, who also released a magazine on the occasion.

Earlier, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the upgradation of 9.30 km-long Kulaani-Chandpur-Bharmat-Simblu road to be constructed at a cost of Rs 7.28 crore in Bharmat in Palampur. He directed the officers to complete this project within 18 months.

Roads are the lifeline for the people of Himachal Pradesh, where there is limited scope of other means of transportation, therefore, the state government has accorded priority to the construction of roads in the state, he said.

In response to a question on the de-notification of institutions, Sukhu said that the state government will open institutions when they are needed.

He said the previous BJP government had opened and upgraded more than 900 institutions/facilities in the last six months of its tenure hoping for electoral gains, which put a burden of Rs 5,000 crore on the state exchequer, and a loan of Rs 75 thousand crore, he added.