Shimla, April 11: Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today laid the foundation stone of the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and Polytechnic in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government Engineering and technology institute being set up at Pragti Nagar, 75 km from here in collaboration with Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN).The institute will be a three-tier institute providing courses as per ITI syllabus, Polytechnic and Engineering degrees, said the Chief Minister. From the next year, the institute will also provide courses in bio-technology.The institute was coming up on the sprawling Agro India Packaging Factory complex, which had been closed.
The government would provide land and infrastructure for the project while the cost of setting up the institution would be borne by SJVN and Central government.The chief minister also announced that a fruit technology and fruit processing college would also be opened in Hamirpur soon.Besides the Engineering institute, Dhumal also laid foundation stones of various ambitious projects, namely controlled atmosphere (CA) store of Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Produce, Marketing and Processing Corporation Ltd., 220/400 KV, 2 X 315 MVA sub-station of Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Limited and Gumma-Baghi road upgradation was to be implemented at a cost of about Rs 400 crore.
The power sub-station of HP Power Transmission Corporation Limited will be constructed at a cost of Rs 140 crore with the assistance of Asian Development Bank and linked to Jhakri-Abdulapur Line and facilitate evacuation of 500 MW power from projects coming up in Sawra, Kudu, Pubbar and Rupa valleys.This will also be linked with 66 KV power station local grid and benefit the people of Kotkhai, Jubbal, Rohru and Chopal besides other areas of Shimla district in upgrading power system thereby ensuring reliable and dependable power.
The controlled atmosphere (CA) store of HPMC having capacity of 640 metric tonnes with AC van will involve an expenditure of Rs 5.07 crore.Speaking on the occasion he said that under Atal Swasthya Yojana, free ambulance service was also being provided for patients.Implementation of Atal Bijli Bachat Yojana and providing four CLF bulbs free of cost to 15 lakh domestic consumers has helped in saving of power worth over Rs 100 crore, he added.He said that anti hail guns and radar had been installed at Khada Pathar and surrounding areas of Shimla district.Chief Minister said that a modern market yard was being set up at Parala to benefit the fruit growers of Shimla and adjoining districts at a cost of Rs 100 crore, while another Rs 100 crore would be spent on improvement of Parala-Kumarhatti horticulture road.
——–PTI