Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday announced to celebrate Indora Utsav-2024 as a district-level festival from next year.

He also distributed eligibility certificates to 14 children under the Indira Gandhi Sukh Shiksha Yojana.

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Sukhu said that this scheme has been started to support the education of children of widows and single women and the state government would bear all the expenses.

While greeting the people on the occasion of Indora Utsav, the Chief Minister praised the festival for its efforts in spreading awareness about drug abuse through cultural programmes and said that the efforts of the local community to this cause were truly commendable.

He said that the state government was taking strong action against drug abuse, especially in areas near Punjab.

He highlighted that the government has a law to seize the properties of those involved in the drug trade and properties of drug offenders in the Indora area have already been confiscated.

Sukhu reassured that the government was fully committed to continuing its tough measures to combat the drug problem.

He also assured that adequate funds would be allocated for the development of the Indora Assembly constituency.

Sukhu also reaffirmed the state government’s dedication to the overall development of Kangra district and the work of expansion of Kangra Airport and the establishment of a Rs 300 crore state-of-the-art milk processing plant at Dhagwar was under progress.

Apart from this, the state government has given approval for water sports at Pong Dam and activities set to begin soon, he added.

“Since our government assumed office we have focused on ensuring the welfare of the common people and numerous initiatives have been implemented to strengthen the rural economy. We have enhanced the support price of cow milk from Rs 32 to Rs 45 and buffalo milk from Rs 47 to Rs 55 per kilogram,” he said.

“A decision to purchase locally produced maize at Rs 30 per kilogram and wheat at Rs 40 per kilogram has also been taken, which would directly benefit rural farmers and encourage their produce. Furthermore, the daily wage under MNREGA has been raised to Rs 300,” he said.

While farmers were protesting across the country, whereas in Himachal the state government was actively implementing welfare schemes to support farmers, he stated.

He said that our government has increased the compensation for those affected by last year’s disaster in Indora, from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.

Sukhu said that the state government has fulfilled seven key promises, including reinstating the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees in the very first cabinet meeting whereas the BJP government after forming their government in Rajasthan abolished it.

Taking a dig at BJP, he said that due to internal conflicts within the BJP, the party now was divided into five factions.

During the tenure of BJP, the so-called double-engine government in the state, there was a decline in every sector in Himachal Pradesh, whereas our government was bringing reforms that would lead to positive outcomes, he claimed.