Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday said that the state government would approach the central government to grant OBC status to the Dodra-Kwar area.

During his third visit to Dodra-Kwar on Saturday, the CM launched the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi for the Shimla district and released 12 months’ worth of Samman Nidhi to 509 eligible women, effective from 1 April 2024.

He released an amount of Rs 91.62 lakh to the beneficiary women and Rs 45.45 lakh as a six-month pension at the rate of Rs 1,500 per month to 505 other women in Dodra-Kwar who are receiving social security pension.

Sukhu said that under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi, the state government provides Rs 18,000 per year to eligible women.

He laid the foundation stones and inaugurated projects worth about Rs 12 crore in Dodra-Kwar, a remote area in Shimla district, including the Gosang-Jiskun road, constructed at a cost of Rs 5.43 crore.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Dodra-Chamdhar road, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 5.46 crore, and the Gosang-Harli road, with an estimated cost of Rs 85 lakh.

Besides, he also inaugurated the first ATM in Kwar, which has been installed by the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank.

“The government will introduce schemes to empower the five panchayats of Dodra-Kwar. Work is going on at a war footing to construct a road to Jakha, which is expected to be completed by December this year. The state government will also establish a separate Zila Parishad for Dodra-Kwar to enable public representatives to convey the region’s issues to the state government more effectively,” Sukhu said.

He announced funding of Rs 1 crore for the development of each of the five panchayats in Dodra Kwar, along with Rs 4.5 crore for a Bailey bridge to connect Uttarakhand, which will ensure 12-month connectivity to Dodra-Kwar.

Announcing full funding for two bridges to be constructed between Jiskoon and Jakha, he said that the 50-km road from Ladrot to Dodra-Kwar would be paved by October 2025.

He also assured to provide adequate funds to complete the rest house of the Public Works Department being constructed in Kwar. He said that the school work under construction in Dodra would be completed soon and adequate staff would be deployed there.

Apart from this, he said that doctors and nurses would be appointed in Dodra-Kwar to provide better health facilities to the people of the region, assuring that funds would be allocated for a new building for the civil hospital.

He also announced to give Rs 25 lakh for paving the road from the Kwar heliport to the SDM office and for extending bus service to Jiskoon.

Sukhu also inspected the land identified for the civil hospital in Kwar and directed that construction be expedited.

He said that the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank has provided loans without any guarantees to 200 women from Dodra-Kwar under the Empowered Women Loan Scheme, which benefits a total of 29,000 women across the state.