Mandi (Munish Sood)
Himachal Pradesh’s famous tourist town Manali witnessed a unique moment during the Winter Carnival event when Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, after a series of late-night inaugurations and foundation stone layings worth crores of rupees, took to the stage and hummed an emotional Bollywood song.
Addressing the crowd at Manu Rangshala’s cultural evening, the CM sang the iconic tune from the movie ‘Mera Naam Joker’: “Jeena Yahan, Marna Yahan, Iske Siva Jana Kahan,” striking a chord with the audience.
Development projects worth crores announced
The Chief Minister announced development projects worth Rs 206.08 crore for the people of Kullu district. This included the inauguration of eight developmental projects in Manali worth Rs 59.21 crore and the foundation stones for 13 projects totalling Rs 147.59 crore.
Among these were major reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts following the devastating Beas river floods of 2023, which caused significant damage to Manali and surrounding areas.
Some of the key projects inaugurated included upgradation of the Manali-Burua road at a cost of Rs 7.34 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (Phase III), improvement of the Chakki-Halan road for Rs 7.70 crore, construction of a double-lane bridge at Solang Nala worth Rs 3.72 crore, new interstate bus terminal in Patlikuhal at a cost of Rs 7.69 crore and the first phase of a bus parking yard in Manali worth Rs 14.30 crore.
Flood protection and other key projects
Several flood-protection works along the Beas river were also announced, including projects worth Rs 8.66 crore in Bran panchayat, Rs 8.72 crore in Halan-Du and Rs 8.73 crore in Raison.
Manali MLA Bhuvneshwar Gaur expressed gratitude to the CM, stating that these initiatives would fulfil long-pending demands and provide much-needed infrastructure.
