Theog-Hatkoti road to be completed by next year: Himachal CM

The Theog-Hatkoti Road, lifeline of the people in the heart of apple belt in upper Shimla, would be completed by next year, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said.
"With the consistent efforts of the state government, the Theog-Kharapathar-Hatkoti road had been declared as national highway and the work on this road project would be completed by next year," the chief minister said while presiding over the concluding ceremony of three-day long state-level Rohru festival at Rohru, 110 Km from here today.
The road existed as state highway since 1968 but was denotified by the previous BJP government to 'district rural road' in May 2001, Virbhadra Singh said, accusing the BJP of taking credit and "misguiding people" for getting the road declared as national highway.

"In fact, it was the present state government which took up the issue with the Centre repeatedly for getting this road declared as national highway and I personally held meetings with the World Bank officials for getting the road funded earlier in 2003...It has been made successful now by getting this road declared as national highway," he said.
The chief minister said that a sum of about Rs 333 crore had been sanctioned by the World Bank for construction of road in two phases from Theog to Kharapathar and further from Kharapathar to Rohru.
Though, the harsh weather and untimely rain had hindered the work, yet the government would ensure that the road will be completed by next year before the apple season.

"All the alternate routes will be maintained during the apple season so that horticulturists did not face any problem in marketing their produce," he added.

He said, "only those people were making irrelevant statements regarding this road who are bent upon deriving political mileage by spreading rumours".
"If some work would have been done by the previous government, then the present government would have thought of extending this road up to Dodra-Kwar," he said, adding that Kumarhatti-Nahan road which now had been completed, had also been declared as national highway due to the persistent efforts of the present government.
A new bus stand was being constructed at Rohru and the buses thereafter would be routed through the by-pass and a parking would also be constructed near the new stand having facility to park 400 to 500 vehicles and another parking would be developed near Rohru.

Besides this, Singh also announced adding 50 more beds to the civil hospital Rohru and the qualitative health services to be provided to the people of the area.
Additional accommodation would be created for the school girls at Rohru along with hostel for the girls and if required, it would be extended in the near future.
"I want to make it a modern school of girl education so that they get qualitative education near to their home," the chief minister said.