category Regional, kullu (hp), , tags Regional, kullu (hp), , DW BUREAU Kullu (HP) Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of 13 development projects worth Rs. 197.93 crore in Kullu district on Monday. He inaugurated Rs. 20 crore Subzi Mandi Bandrol, Rs. 9.07 crore double-lane bridge over River Beas at Raison. He also dedicated a steel truss bridge completed with an outlay of Rs. 6.44 crore over River Beas at Nehru Kund (Bahang) connecting the link road Burwa and Shanag. He also inaugurated Rs. 4.07 crore RCCT-Beam Bridges over Jagatsukh Nallah and Rs. 3.37 crore Chhaki Nallah, Rs. 20 lakh Vivekanand Library at Patlikuhl, Rs. 7.83 crore Eco-Friendly Market Marhi Tehsil, Manali, Rs. 54 lakh Way Side Amenities at Solangnalla and Rs. 29 lakh Ayurvedic Health Center Building at Sajla. The Chief Minister also laid foundation stones of Rs.130.18 crore maintenance and tarring of Babeli Jindour road, Rs. 3.59 crore Bandrol Didari Sharan Road and Rs. 1.49 crore Flain to Grahan road. In addition, he also laid foundation stone of Rs. 10.86 crore flood protection work along the Right Bank of River Beas for Village Katrain, 15 Mile Baragran Bihal and adjoining areas. The Chief Minister conveyed warm greetings to the people on New Year and said that these projects would have the transformative impact on both local residents and tourists. Emphasizing the government s dedication to achieving uniform statewide development, he said that these endeavours would prove as a milestone for the Kullu district. Attributing financial mismanagement to the previous BJP Government, Sh. Sukhu said that just within one year, the State Government has improved its economy by 20 percent. The Chief Minister said that in 2023 people of Himachal Pradesh faced the disaster boldly. Despite financial challenges, the state government swiftly adapted, introducing crucial changes in rules to aid the affected families he said. He said that the government s commitment was evident as it announced a special package of Rs 4,500 crore for the disaster affected. Compensation for completely damaged houses was increased to Rs 7 lakh from Rs 1.30 lakh, a five-and-a-half-fold increase and in the case of partial damage to kutcha houses, compensation was enhanced by 25 times to rupees one lakh, while for pucca houses, it increased by 15.5 times. The Chief Minister said that during the disaster, he himself stayed in Kullu for three days and within 48 hours essential services were temporarily restored. The evacuation of 75 thousand tourists and 15 thousand vehicles showcased the government s efficient response. He said despite the setback in tourism, the state has witnessed a surge in visitors to popular tourist destinations like Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala. He said that the State Government has made proper arrangements to facilitate the tourists and there were some rumours regarding traffic jam in Manali and some other areas which were totally baseless. He said that the state government was committed to make Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant state. Despite a huge debt burden and government employees liabilities totaling Rs 10,000 crore, the state s economy has shown a remarkable improvement in last one year. He said that the present government is making earnest efforts to achieve self-reliance in four years and position Himachal Pradesh as the country s most prosperous state within a decade. He said that last year the government has announced the Mukhyamantri Sukh-Ashraya Yojna on the New Year and on the same analogy this year, the State Government has announced to start a new scheme for providing better education opportunities to the Divyang children under which an integrated world class educational institution will be set up in the State. This institution will provide basic school education and then higher education of college level at one place. Besides it would also provide training opportunities in sports so as these children will be able to participate in Paralympics and other related sports events. (editor dailyworld.in)