Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu calls on PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Tuesday.

Sukhu termed the meeting a courtesy call.

The chief minister discussed various development projects under implementation in the state and requested the prime minister for liberal assistance from the Centre to give a fillip to the ongoing works.

Sukhu later called on Home Minister Amit Shah and also termed it a courtesy call.

This is his first meeting with the Union Home minister after becoming the chief minister.

He also met with Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Space and Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh and held deliberations about strengthening agriculture, horticulture and health sector by adopting modern techniques and by making best use of science and technology.

During his meeting with the prime minister, the chief minister assured him that the state government will effectively implement centrally launched schemes like 'Pradhanmantri Gati Shakti Yojna', aimed at revolutionising infrastructure, and 'Parvatmala Yojna' for the construction of ropeways, according to a state government statement.

He said both the schemes would immensely benefit the people of the state and added that connectivity and infrastructure development were one of the main focus areas of the present government besides generating employment avenues for people.

The chief minister honoured the prime minister with a memento, a Himachali shawl and a cap.

The prime minister congratulated Sukhu on becoming the chief minister and assured all possible support to the state.

In his meeting with the Science and Technology minister, the chief minister urged him to set up weather observatories in the state and advocated for high-tech seismic laboratory-cum-data analysis centre.

He also requested Singh to include Chamba district under the 'Aroma Mission'.

The chief minister, in a statement, said the state government is mulling to set up a department of nuclear medicine in any one of the medical colleges of the state so that the radiation therapy facility could be provided to cancer patients, thereby saving their time and resources.

"The need of the hour was to adopt modern scientific methodology of farming instead of practising traditional methods," the chief minister said in the statement and urged for providing technological support for the same.

He also requested for providing support to the officers of horticulture and agriculture departments of the state besides organising orientation programmes for them to enable them to be more familiar with new innovative technology.

He also requested the Centre for organised training for the farmers and horticulturists to make them acquainted with the new techniques, it said.

These new techniques will help farmer and horticulturalists in improving the quality of their produce, he said.

He also advocated the inclusion of Chamba district under the 'Aroma Mission' for cultivation of lavender plants and to provide technological support to the farmers for the same.

Keeping in view the vulnerability of the state to earthquakes, the chief minister urged Singh for establishing a high tech seismic laboratory-cum-data analysis centre in Kangra and Hamirpur seismic zone.

He apprised Singh that the state was more prone to natural calamities and thus the need for setting up doppler radars in the two tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti, besides establishing weather observatories at Hamirpur, Chamba, Nalagarh, Keylong and Kaza regions along-with a data centre in Hamirpur district in order to strengthen disaster response, analysis and dissemination of weather information, the statement said.

Singh lauded the concern of the chief minister towards the Himalayan ecology and his keen interest in science and technology, the statement added.