CM accorded warm welcome at Dharamshala

The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was today accorded a warm welcome by the residents of Kangra district on his arrival at Dharamshala for the first leg of his extended Winter Sojourn. He flew for Dharamshala via helicopter in the afternoon from Delhi on today to land at Police Stadium Dharamshala. During his comprehensive stay he will lay foundation stones of many projects and dedicate lots of completed works worth crores of rupees in various constituencies of Kangra and Chamba districts till January 17. He will also preside over meetings of various welfare boards at Dharamshala from January 18 to 21.

It is interesting to note that it was Virbhadra Singh, who not only started the practice of Winter Sojourn but also allowed it to flourish with the time. During the Winter Sojourn the Chief Minister tours the lower parts of the State including Kangra, Chamba, Una and Hamirpur and listens to the grievances of the people besides addressing them on the spot. Foundation stones for various developmental projects are also laid in addition to dedicating the completed ones. Immediately after landing at Dharamshala, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh dedicated and laid foundation stones for about a dozen developmental projects worth 57 crore of rupees in Dharmashala constituency. He also laid foundation stone of the proposed indoor sports complex and tennis court at Sidhpur ward and the ambitious smart lighting system in the Dharamshala Municipal Corporation.

The CM laid foundation stones and dedicated 10 projects form a single site in the old D.C. complex. On this occasion, he dedicated the newly constructed building of Primary Health Centre, Khanyara worth Rs.77.49 lakhs and Sargandi Nallah Bridge on lower and upper Chetru at a cost of Rs.127.49 lakhs, building of P.H.C. Bagali at a cost of Rs.69.88 lakhs, girls hostel in the premises of Govt. Degree College, Dharamshala at a cost of Rs. 70.78 lakhs, Secrecy block in the premises of H.P. Board of School Education at a cost of Rs. 4.13 crores, Smart Lighting System for Dharamshala Municipal Corporation and laid foundation stones for the proposed Kaner-Thamba Road to be built at a cost of Rs. 177.75 lakhs, a community centre at a cost of Rs. 8 lakhs in the residential complex of H.P. Board of School Education at Sidhpur,  improvement and restoration of sewerage system for Dharamshala Municipal Corporation, additional residential complex for the staff of H.P. Board Education Complex, Chilgari at a cost of Rs. 1.70 crore, conserving prominent temple precincts and upgrading urban infrastructure for tourism in Dharamshala and Mcleodganj at a cost of over 40 crores.

On this occasion Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jagjivan Pal, Chairman KCCB Sh. Jagdeesh Siphiya, Chairman H.P. Board of School Education Sh. Balbir Tegta, vice-chairman Kewal Singh Pathania, former minister Satya Prakash Thakur, former M.L.A. Surendra Kaku and Bodh Raj, DC CP Verma and SP Sanjiv Gandhi were also present.