70th Republic Day was celebrated with gaiety and fervour across the State today. Governor Acharya Devvrat unfurled the National Flag and took the salute of a march past at the State-level Republic Day function held on the historic Ridge Maidan, Shimla.The Governor inspected the parade and took salute from an impressive march past, led by Parade Commander Major Vikram Dev Singh from 22 Rajput.Lady Governor Darshana Devi and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and wife of Chief Minister Dr. Sadhna Thakur were also present on the occasion.The March past was presented by the contingents of Army, Indo-Tibet Border Police, SSB Jawans, Ex-Servicemen, State Police, Home Guards, Bharat Scouts & Guides and NCC cadets etc. A colourful cultural programme representing all districts was also presented on the occasion. Tableaux highlighting various development activities of different departments also formed a part of the Republic Day celebration. A special Tableaux focussed on Mahatma Gandhi Ji visit to Shimla on 11 May, 1921 was the main attraction.Cultural troupe Una got the first prize, second prize was given to NZCC Rajasthan and Yoga performers got the third prize. Similarly, Tableaux of Industry Department was given the first prize, Tourism department got second prize and a play based on Jan Manch was given third prize. Contingents of NCC girls got first prize, NCC boys got second prize and NSS girls have been awarded the special prize. The Governor awarded the winners. The Governor also honoured the sports persons of the state who had performed at International level which included Jyotika Dutta, Naresh Kumar, Sumita Mehta, Shivam Kumar and Abhinav Bhaskar. Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, MLAs Vinod Kumar and Balbir Verma, Deputy Mayor Rakesh Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary cum Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Dr. Shrikant Baldi, Director General of Police S.R. Mardi, other senior Civil, Police and Military officers were also present on the occasion amongst others.
At Mandi
District level Republic Day celebrations were celebrated with joyful celebration at the Seri Manch of Mandi. Vidhan Sabha Speaker Dr. Rajeev Bindal hoisted the National Flag and took salute of march past presented by Police, Home Guards, NCC, NSS, Scouts and Guides and the students of school students.While congratulating the 70th Republic Day on this occasion, he said that on this auspicious day, the country came into existence in the form of a republic after the constitution was introduced in the year 1950.Dr. Rajeev Bindal said that during the tenure of present government, 70 habitations of the Mandi district were provided drinking water facility whereas irrigation facilities were provided in 260 hectares of land. During this period 143 hand pumps were set up in the district. He said that under the Chief Minister Swavalamban scheme, a budget provision of Rs. 7 crores has been made during the current financial year under the scheme in Mandi district. So far 111 applications have been approved by the District Level Committee and sent to the banks.MP Ram Swaroop Sharma, MLA Jawahar Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, President of Zila Parishad Sarla Thakur, President of Municipal Council Suman Thakur, BJP District President Ranbir Singh, DC Rugved Thakur, SP Gurdev Chand Sharma among others were also present on this occasion.
At Kullu
District level function of 70th Republic Day was held at Dhalpur Ground in Kullu. Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Kishan Kapoor hoisted the flag on this occasion and take the salute of the grand march past, presented by Police, ITBP, Home Guard, NCC and NSS.Referring to the development in Kullu district, Kishan Kapoor said that under Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojna, 2614 women of the district and under the Ujjwala Yojna of centre, 6384 women have been provided free gas connections. In the district, one lakh 12 thousand 925 ration card holders are being given cheaper ration through 440 fair price shops.On this occasion, Kishan Kapoor called upon the youth to stay away from drug addiction. He also distributed prizes to those who performed commendable performances in sports activities, cleanliness and social field on this occasion.Wife of Kishan Kapoor Rekha Kapoor, MLA Surendra Shourie and Sunder Thakur, former Minister Satya Prakash Thakur, former MLA Chandrasen, President Municipal Council Bimala Mahant, BJP District President Bhim Sen Sharma, DC Yunus, SP Shalini Agnihotri and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
At Una
District level Republic Day celebration was celebrated at Government Senior Secondary School (Boys) Una with much fanfare. Urban Development, Town and Country Planning and Housing Minister Sarveen Chaudhary hoisted the National Flag and took salute of the march past presented by Police, Home Guard, NCC, NSS, Guides and Scouts.Sarveen Chaudhary said that under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat, 6300 golden cards have been made in Una district through which these families are getting free treatment upto Rs. 5 lakhs. He said that many other institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology, PGI Chandigarh's satellite hospital, Mother and Child Health Institute have been approved by the Central Government in Una District. He said that the broad gauge railway line has been expanded in the district during the last four years, which has resulted in the rail facility being provided to Daulatpur Chowk. He said that the famous Shaktipeeth Mata Chintapurni Temple has also been linked to the railway route.Sarveen Chaudhary said that chemotherapy has been started for the treatment of cancer patients in Una District Hospital. Apart from this, dialysis facility is also being provided here and so far 2409 patients have benefitted from this facility.State BJP President Satpal Singh Satti, MLA Satpal Raizada, Vice President of State Industrial Development Corporation Prof. Ram Kumar, APMC Chairman Balvir Bagga, former MLA Sushma Sharma, Municipal Council President Baba Amarjot Bedi and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
At Solan
70th Republic Day celebration was celebrated in Solan district. Dr. Ram Lal Markanda, Minister of Agriculture, Tribal Development and Information Technology presided over the district level function organized in the historic Thodo Maidan.He hoisted the national flag and took the salute of the grand march past presented by police, home guard, NCC and school students. Police Deputy Inspector Munish Kumar led the parade. Dr. Markanda also paid homage to the martyrs on behalf of the residents of the district at Martyr Memorial at Chambaghat.Agriculture Minister said that under 'Prakritik Kheti, Khushhal Kisan' scheme, 25 crore rupees were being spent this year. He said that more than 1150 farmers have been trained in natural farming training camps organized by the state government in Kufri of Shimla district and Palampur in Kangra district. 537 farmers have been given information about natural farming in 5 awareness camps in Solan district. He said that 122 farmers in Solan district are completely cultivating natural resources.Dr. Markanda said that about 15.40 crore rupees have been spent on various agricultural activities in Solan district in the year 2018. Soil Health Cards have been provided to 46 thousand 854 farmers in the district.A colorful cultural program was also presented on this occasion. On this occasion, Dr. Markanda honoured the international and national players of Handball among others.MP Virender Kashyap, President of APMC Solan Sanjeev Kashyap, President Municipal Council Solan Devender Thakur, DC Vinod Kumar, SP Madhusudan Sharma, other senior officers and dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
At Bilaspur
District level function of Republic Day was held at the Government Senior Secondary School (Boys) in Bilaspur. Health and Family Welfare Minister Vipin Singh Parmar hoisted the national flag and took the salute of the grand March past.He said that in order to provide better health facilities to the people, Pradhan Mantri Jan Swasthya Yojana Ayushman Bharat has been started. He informed that this scheme will benefit 22 lakh people of the state. He said that for the convenience of people not covered in Ayushmann Bharat Scheme, a new scheme 'Him Care' has been started in the state. Under the scheme, provision of free treatment upto Rs. 5 lakhs per family has been made. He said that the construction of the AIIMS institute, which is being constructed in the Kothipura of Bilaspur costing around Rs.1350 crores has been started which will be completed in about two years.He said that effective steps have taken in the state to provide security to women by launching Gudiya Helpline and Shakti Button App. Apart from this, Hoshiyar Singh Helpline was also launched so that forest, mining and drug mafia could be curbed.MLA Subhash Thakur, Rajender Garg and J.R. Katwal, DC Vivek Bhatia, SP Ashok Kumar and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
At Hamirpur
On the occasion of district level Republic Day celebrations organized in Government Senior Secondary School, Hamirpur, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Virender Kanwar hoisted the flag and took salute of a grand march presented by Police, Home Guards and NCC, Scouts and Guides of different schools.Speaking on the occasion, he said that the Rural Development Department has started a new program 'Ek Boota Beti Ke Naam' for the protection of environment in the rural areas of the State, under which the target of planting 15 lakh saplings in rural areas of the state has been set.He said that special campaign has been started by the state government to eliminate the drug addition from the root cause, especially to save the younger generation from this social evil.MLA Narender Thakur, Kamlesh Kumari, former MLA and HRTC Vice President Vijay Agnihotri, District Council President Rakesh Thakur and DC Dr. Richa Verma among others were also present on this occasion.
At Kangra
Forest Minister Govind Singh Thakur presided over the district level Republic Day function celebrated at Dharamshala of Kangra District with joyful celebration. He hoisted the National Flag and took salute of the attractive march past presented by Police, Home guards, NCC, Scouts and Guides and NSS troops of different schools.Govind Singh Thakur said that JICA project of Rs. 800 crore has been started in the State. Its main objective is to provide the opportunity to increase income of local people by providing livelihood based on forest cover and increasing density of forest. He said that the government has made provision of 50 percent subsidy on establishing an industry based on pine leaves.Forest and Transport Minister said that an ambitious project of about Rs.1900 crores is proposed for the development of tourism infrastructure in the State. In order to promote religious tourism, another project worth Rs. 100 crore has been sent to the tourism ministry of center government for approval.Former MLA Sanjay Chaudhary, DC Sandeep Kumar, SP Santosh Patial and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
At Sirmaur
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dr. Rajiv Saizal presided over the District Level Republic Day function in Nahan Chougan. He hoisted the National Flag on this occasion and took the salute of the march past.He said that the amount of Rs.678 crores is being spent on the programs of social welfare in the state during the financial year. He said that social security pension is being provided to 5 lakh 11 thousand 126 eligible persons in the state whereas more than 32000 eligible persons in Sirmaur district are being provided Social Security Pension. He said that about one lakh new cases of Social Security Pension were approved in the State during the last one year. In Sirmaur district, amount of Rs. 86 crores is being spent under Social Welfare and Scheduled Caste Sub Plan.On this occasion, MLA Sukh Ram Chaudhary, Suresh Kashyap, District BJP President Vinay Gupta, Municipal Council President Rekha Tomar, DC Lalit Jain, SP Rohit Malpani were also present along with other dignitaries.
At Chamba
Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Hans Raj presided over district level Republic Day function in Chaugan Maidan in Chamba. On this occasion, he hoisted the National Flag and took the salute of march past. He said that an annual plan of 71,000 crore rupees for the next financial year has been proposed, which was more than 800 crore rupees in the current financial year. He said that special attention is being given to the social welfare and social welfare by the state government.He said that the Mukhya Mantri Swavalamban Yojana has been started by the state government for which budget provision of Rs. 80 crores has been made. 50 percent subsidy was being provided to the entrepreneurs under the scheme, whereas for women 30 percent subsidy was being given. He said that 10 Atal Vidyarthi Kender were being opened in the first phase in the state, where the hostel facility was also available to the students with free education.On this occasion, MLA Pawan Nayar, Padam Shri Vijay Sharma, SP Dr. Monika, besides other dignitaries were also present among others.
At Kinnaur
Despite the heavy snowfall in Kinnaur district, district level Republic Day celebration was celebrated with enthusiasm. The officiating DC Dr. Major Avninder Kumar presided over the function. He hoisted the national flag and took salute of the march past.
At Lahaul-Spiti
Officiating DC Lahaul and Spiti, Amar Negi presided over the district level function held at district headquarter Keylong. He un-furled the national flag and took salute of the contingent of Police, Home Guard and students.He detailed various developmental activities being going on in the district.