Enough infra available in Dharamsala, says Bali

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, January 19

Minister for Transport, Technical Education and Food and Civil Supplies GS Bali today making Dharamsala the second capital was a lonh-oending demand of the people.

“By next winters elections might be due in the state. So I will request the Chief Minister that the move to make Dharamsala the winter capital should be implemented in month of February”, he said.

Bali said enough infrastructure was available here for housing the offices of minister and secretaries.

He said that move was started during the Congress stint in power during 1993 to 1998. During this period the Congressmen from Kangra had welcomed the Chief Minister with 1,100 gates and vehicles when he first started the winter sojourn. Now once again the people of Kangra would give tumultuous welcome to the Chief Minister after he comes to Dharamsala after declaring it as winter capital.

Bali also said that he would request the Chief Minister to shift some more offices from Shimla to Kangra district. “This will give representation to the area and also help decongest Shimla. The Chief Minister had already given many offices to Dharamsala as the school education board and I hope more would be shifted here”, he said.

The move of the Himachal Chief Minister to declared Dharamsala as capital has stumped the BJP as there was no reaction to the CM’s announcement by the BJP leaders in the district.

The BJP till date had been working on a strategy to divide Kangra into smaller districts for the Assembly elections scheduled this year. However, the Chief Minister had crafted a political move which the BJP would find difficult to counter in politically significant Kangra district having 15 Assembly segments.