CM: Pong Dam oustees’ issue to be taken up with Rajasthan

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Rehan (Dharamsala), January 20

The issue of Pong Dam oustees came up during the visit of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to Rehan in the Fatehpur Assembly constituency on Sunday. 

Former MP Kirpal Parmar, who organised a rally at Rehan, said that the Pong Dam oustees were suffering even after 50 years of the construction of the dam. He urged the CM to take up the matter with the Rajasthan Chief Minister to either provide land or compensation to the oustees.

The Chief Minister said that the state government would take up the matter of rehabilitation of the Pong Dam oustees with the Rajasthan Government at the highest level.

The CM announced upgradation of the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Rehan to 50-bed Civil Hospital. He also said that Rs 51-crore detailed project report had been prepared for solving the water problem of the Fatehpur area.

Thakur said, “The government believes in working for the development of the state without even an iota of vengeance and vendetta. The biggest strength of the government is an honest endeavour to ensure balanced and equitable development of the entire state.”

He said that the state government had lowered the age for getting the old-age pension from 80 years to 70 years benefiting about 2 lakh people who were now getting Rs 1,300 per month. 

The Grihini Suvidha Yojana has emerged a big success and so far 35,000 families had been provided free gas connections. 

“The Opposition publicises issue regarding my Delhi visits, but now when the state government has succeeded in getting development projects worth Rs 9,500 crore, they have nothing to say. The Opposition neither has a vision nor a leader,” he said.

He announced to start MCom and MSc (physics) classes at Government Degree College, Dehra, and construction of a bridge to connect Sakri village. 

The matter of opening of a sub-tehsil at Raja Ka Talab would be considered sympathetically. He also announced Rs 10 crore for the construction of Mid-Himalaya Community Centre.

Earlier, he inaugurated the augmentation and improvement of lift irrigation scheme completed at a cost of Rs 1.02 crore and lift water supply scheme completed at a cost of Rs 1.90 crore for Khadoun, Mohar, Lagra and Khthan. 

He also inaugurated newly constructed police station building at Fatehpur. He also laid the foundation stone of combined office building (Mini-Secretariat) at Fatehpur to be constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore.