The state government is giving top priority for development of Arki area of Solan district, stated Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while addressing the virtual rally of Arki BJP Mandal through video conferencing from here today.The Chief Minister said that technology was the only mode of communication with the people of the State in this time of Covid-19 pandemic. The whole world has been adversely affected due to the Corona virus and India was no exception. He said that the situation in Himachal Pradesh was quite under control and there was no community spread of this virus which was a matter of great relief. He said that the people of the State have played a vital role during this time of crisis by strictly following the guidelines and advisories issued by the Center and State governments.Jai Ram Thakur said that economy of the State had adversely affected due to this epidemic. He said that in order to give relief to the tourism sector, the state government had decided to charge domestic charges on water bills instead commercial from tourism units for period of six months. The government has also decided to exempt demand charges on electricity from registered hotels and restaurants.Referring to the development of Arki Assembly constituency, the Chief Minister said that about Rs. 62 crore had been spent by the Public Works Department for construction of roads, bridges and buildings in the area besides Rs. 31 crore on construction of irrigation and drinking water supply schemes by the Jal Shakti Department. He said that Rs. 3.17 crore had also been disbursed to 8644 beneficiaries of social security pension as three month advance pension.Jai Ram Thakur thanked the people of Arki for generously contributing towards HP SDMA Covid-19 State Disaster Response Fund and PM CAREs. He also thanked the party workers for distributing over 15,000 face masks to the needy people in the area.Social justice and Empowerment Minister Dr. Rajiv Saizal and MP Suresh Kashyap also shared their views on the occasion.