BJP failed to develop Shimla; Cong leader Shukla ahead of Municipal polls

Shimla will be given a facelift on the lines of foreign hill stations if the Congress is voted to power in the May 2 Shimla Municipal Corporation elections, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla said on Friday.

The BJP, which controlled the civic body, in addition to being in power at the Centre and in the state, failed to develop Shimla town, he charged and alleged that there was corruption in the utilisation of Smart City Mission funds.

The Congress came to power in the state defeating the BJP in December last year.

Addressing mediapersons here, Shukla said that problems related to water, road, traffic and parking would be resolved by a Congress-led civic board.

Claiming that the BJP was seeking votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he asked weather Modi would construct parking lots or regulate traffic in Shimla town.

Shimla city which has been turned into a concrete jungle has lost its glory, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said.

He said that Rs 25 crore has been sanctioned to remove the web of electricity wires hanging in the capital town.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri promised assured water supply by 2025 and said that all Himachal Road Transport Corporation buses running in the city would be replaced with electrical buses by mid-2024.

As many as 102 candidates are in the fray for 34 wards in the Shimla Municipal Corporation elections. The results will be declared on May 4.