Thakur seeks conversion of Palampur varsity into CAU

Tribune News Service

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Shimla, May 29

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has urged the Union Government to convert Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidalaya (CSKHPKV), Palampur into Central Agriculture University (CAU) for the benefit of the entire North Western Himalayan Region.

In a letter written to the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, he said a Central Agriculture University was established at Imphal in Manipur in 1993 with constituent colleges in six states of North-Eastern Himalayan Region. He said that in 2014 the Union Government planned to open one more Central Agriculture University at Pusa in Bihar.

Thakur said the North Western Himalayan Region of the country with a population of 3.1 crore and area of 3,31,953 square km comprise the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He said the region being rich in bio diversity and natural resources like minerals, water and forests was suited for cultivation of various crops.

“With HP being a key state in this region and major river basins like Satluj, Ravi, Beas, Chenab and Yamuna falling here, the state offers huge potential in agriculture and allied sectors. The existence of an institute of higher learning and research like a Central Agriculture University would go a long way in bringing much-needed prosperity to the people of the entire North-Western Himalayan Region, he contended.

He said the Palampur Agriculture University was centrally located and well connected by air, road and rail and vast expanse of 615 hectares besides 233 hectares of land in different agro-climatic zones of the state.