Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 21 development projects worth Rs 136.25 crore for the Balh, Nachan, Mandi (Sadar) and Karsog Assembly constituencies at the Kansa ground in the Balh area during his daylong visit to Mandi district.
The Chief Minister inaugurated metalling and tarring work costing Rs 10.73 crore on the Chandyal-Pipli-Kuthwari-Kandi-Tarapur-Kharsi-Mansa Mata Mandir-Dola Tikkar road; work costing Rs 8.28 crore on the Sakroha-Naina Mata Mandir-Pipli-Nadaul-Kausala-Malwana road;
work on the Lakhvan-Dahanu-Bhanshot-Rathol-Andreta-Meramsit road, to cost Rs 5.11 crore; work costing Rs 3.08 crore on the Tanda-Kohla-Tikkari-Kawalkot-Sidhkothi (via Baba Balak Nath Mandir)-Thapla-Gobhol-Galoo road; and the work costing Rs 3.51 crore on the Doyda Pul-Chhajwan-Khabu Panchayat Ghar-Dusra Khabu-Darviyas road.
He also inaugurated the PWD Division Office building at Nerchowk, constructed at a cost of Rs 2.08 crore; the upgrade of the Nerchowk-Ratti-Kalkhar road, costing Rs 25.89 crore; the Ayurvedic Health Centre building at Behna, costing Rs 32 lakh; and the veterinary dispensary building at Koth, costing Rs 23 lakh.
Sukhu also inaugurated the Rs 43.91-crore lift water supply scheme to habitations under the Rewalsar IPH sub-division in Balh tehsil; the Rs 17.01-crore LWSS for Bahli-Mahadev and Neri Kangar-Panyas under the Mandi PIU division; a Government Primary School at Bal (U-Block, Mandi), constructed at a cost of Rs 4.42 crore;
Panchayat Ghar at Dahnu, costing Rs 38 lakh; Panchayat Ghar at Malthehar, costing Rs 38 lakh; Mandav Gramin Haat at Pandoh (Seog), costing Rs 25 lakh; Patwarkhana at Rajwadi in Balh tehsil, costing Rs 12 lakh; and a Patwarkhana at Karsog in Karsog tehsil, costing Rs 12 lakh.
Sukhu laid the foundation stone of an Ayurvedic Health Centre building at Halyatar, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 50 lakh; Type-I and Type-II staff quarters at Kangni, costing Rs 1.41 crore; and the Panchayat Samudayik Kendra at Ratti in the Balh development block, to be built at a cost of Rs 1.15 crore.
Later, he inaugurated an MRI machine worth Rs 23 crore and a Tertiary Care Cancer Centre equipped with LINAC and CT Simulator machines, costing Rs 2.29 crore, at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital, Nerchowk, in Mandi.
He also laid the foundation stone for a PET scan machine block at the medical college, to come up at an estimated cost of Rs 51 crore.
The Chief Minister said the development projects would significantly strengthen basic infrastructure and public services in the areas concerned.
He added that improved road connectivity would facilitate smoother movement of vehicles and strengthen the overall road network in the district, while the water supply schemes would improve access to safe and reliable drinking water for residents of the villages concerned.
He added that, with the inauguration of the MRI machine, patients visiting the medical college would now be able to avail themselves of MRI services there.
