Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has announced that railway circuit will be developed to link the Char Dham pilgrimage centres of Badrinath and Kedarnath.
Talking to mediapersons after inaugurating a 80-Kv solar power plant at Him Jyoti Girls School here today, the Chief Minister said the proposed railway line from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag would be extended up to Sonprayag and Joshimath to link the pilgrimage centres of Kedarnath and Badrinath.
He said Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu would lay the foundation stone of the railway circuit on May 13.
Talking about the girl child, he said the birth rate of girl child in Pithoragarh was not good and asked officials to prepare a work plan to improve the sex ratio. He also warned that strict action would be taken against those killing girl child in wombs. He also called for an awareness campaign on the issue.
Trivendra Singh Rawat said the state government had planned to produce 500-MW solar energy in the state. “We plan to provide electricity to each and every family by the year 2018. There are 1.25 lakh families which could not be linked with the grid and efforts would be made to provide power through off grid sources,” he said.
Rawat also inspected the hostel, canteen, library and classes and interacted with students and enquired about their careers. He appreciated the efforts made by the school authorities in providing quality education along with imparting Indian values to students. He also announced to provide land for a school in Kumaon region. Sudarshan Aggarwal, former Uttarakhand governor and patron of the school, and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.