Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday said the ‘Parvatmala’ project is the result of the state’s push for ropeway connectivity as it will prevent environmental degradation in hilly areas due to road construction activities.

He made these remarks after participating in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s virtual address to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers across the country on the topic Atmanirbhar Arthvyawastha at Hamirpur. PM Modi’s virtual interaction took place a day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget in Parliament.

Talking to the media, Thakur said Himachal was the first state in the country to push for ropeway connectivity in hilly areas of the country in front of PM Modi as road construction activities result in the felling of trees, cutting of hills that contributes to environmental degradation.

“We are happy that the project has been included in the Union budget as the areas where road connectivity is very poor and construction has a major impact on the environment, will benefit from it.

Besides, the state government doesn’t have enough financial resources for ropeways construction and its inclusion in the budget will pave the way for connectivity in remote areas without causing much harm to the environment,” he added.

He lauded the Union Finance Minister for presenting a historic budget and said the Centre had also doubled grants to states to Rs 1 lakh crore from Rs 10,000 crore which will help the governments in focusing on infrastructure and development projects.

Thakur inaugurated Histopathology Lab and automated Biochemistry Analyzer in Dr Radhakrishnan Govt Medical College Hamirpur. With this facility, 360 photometric tests could be done in one hour; besides, biochemistry tests of Covid-19 patients would also be done.

He also performed the opening ceremony of the Eye Donation Centre in the Ophthalmology department of Medical College under the National Blindness Control Program of the National Health Mission.

He also inaugurated Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre in the Medical College under the National Health Mission for the treatment and rehabilitation of malnourished children.

He directed the executing agencies to ensure the time-bound completion of this project. He said that the project should be completed by the month of August this year.

He added that the college would have about 250 beds and seven Operation Theatres and directed for ensuring quality work while executing this project.