Budget session: No deaths due to Covid vaccination in Himachal: Saizal

Says death of the Anganwadi worker who died 22 days after receiving dose was not caused by vaccine, viscera report is awaited

No death has taken place due to coronavirus vaccination in Himachal Pradesh, said health minister Rajeev Saizal during the question hour on Tuesday. He was responding to a query raised by CPI (M) legislator Rakesh Singha.

In response to Bajnar legislator Surender Shourie, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said a tunnel was proposed to be built under the Jalori Pass in Kullu. (HT Photo)

He said the Anganwadi worker who had died 22 days after receiving the dose had not died due to the vaccine. He, however, said the viscera report of the deceased was awaited. Saizal said the success rate of the vaccine was 70%.

Transport minister Bikram Singh assured that action will be taken regarding suspension of bus services to Malana, a remote village. He was responding to a question raised by Kullu legislator Sunder Singh Thakur. The minister said that buses will not be plied or stopped on the behest of taxi operators. “The government will investigate the matter raised by Congress members. The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) operates 275 routes in the Kullu assembly segment. Apart from it, private operators have been allotted 159 routes. HRTC has restored bus services along 173 routes and 102 routes were still closed. Private operators have restored 152 routes while seven are closed,” he said.

In response to Bajnar legislator Surender Shourie, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said a tunnel was proposed to be built under the Jalori Pass in Kullu. The CM said that construction of the Sainz-Aut-Luhri national highway will benefit a very large area. He said ₹ 70.82 crore had been spent on building the 97-km highway, of which a 5-km stretch was a double lane. “A 4.02-km tunnel is proposed to be built under Jalori pass, the process for which has been started,” he said. Responding to a question raised by Congress member Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the CM said the process of tendering for construction of the Himachal Bhawan to be built in Dwarka in Delhi had not been started yet.

“Only land has been purchased for the purpose. The Bhawan will be built at a cost of ₹ 20.9 crore and will have 85 rooms. A part of the building will be used for commercial purposes. The area is close to the airport. Every state has been allotted land near the Statue of Unity in Gujarat,” he said.

Dharamshala Thirty-five trainee nurses of an Una institute were among the 119 people who tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, taking the state’s case tally to 59,869 while death toll mounted to 998 after one more patient succumbed.

Six trainee nurses of the institute had tested positive on Monday. Of the new cases, 54 were reported in Una, 30 in Shimla, 14 in Kangra, seven in Solan, four each in Bilaspur and Mandi, three in Kullu, two in Chamba and one in Sirmaur. Active cases mounted to 820, while the recoveries reached 58,037 after 55 people recuperated.

Shimla is the worst-hit district with 10,604 cases, followed by Mandi with 10,329, and Kangra with 8,774. Solan has 6,939 cases, Kullu 4,482, Sirmaur 3,702, Hamirpur 3,117, Una 3,262, Bilaspur 3,029, Chamba 2,986, Kinnaur 1,387, and Lahaul-Spiti 1,258. A total of 11,68,225 tests have been conducted in the state so far.