Power projects not good for Lahaul-Spiti, Nitin Gadkari urged

Mandi, June 25

Residents of Lahaul-Spiti today submitted a memorandum to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari against the proposal of the state and Central governments to set up power projects on the Chenab.

Gadkari, on a tour of the Lahaul valley, was accorded a warm welcome at Sissu by the residents of Lahaul and Spiti. A delegation of the Tandi Bandh Sangharsh Samiti Lahaul Spiti led by its president Vinod Larje met the Union minister and submitted the memorandum.

Pirdi Lal, a spokesperson for the samiti, said, “We apprised the Union Minister that the state and Central governments were keen to set up power projects on the Chenab in Lahaul and Spiti. There are around 16 mega power projects and 30 micro power projects proposed on the Chenab, which will prove disastrous for the area residents”.

The residents of the Lahaul valley also requested Gadkari to declare the Tandi-Sansari road as a national highway. Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also arrived in Kullu on a private visit today. Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani left Kullu after a two-day sojourn in the Tirthan valley. — TNS