Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth about ₹138 crore in Almora district.
The programme was held at the new administrative building of Soban Singh Jeena University in Almora. According to officials, the projects include 17 works inaugurated at a cost of ₹112.113 crore and nine projects for which foundation stones were laid at a cost of ₹25.979 crore.
The projects cover roads, drinking water supply, education, healthcare, irrigation, urban development, parking facilities and rural infrastructure. Dhami said the works were aimed at improving basic services in the hill district and strengthening facilities for residents in both urban and rural areas.
He said the state government was working to improve road connectivity, drinking water systems, education infrastructure and healthcare services across Uttarakhand, with a focus on ensuring that development reaches people living in remote and hill regions.
Among the projects inaugurated were the construction of damaged residential facilities and a conference hall in Ranikhet tehsil, a boundary wall at Government Women’s Polytechnic, Almora, and parking facilities at Bhairav Mandir, Government Inter College Almora and the KMOU bus stand.
The drinking water projects inaugurated included the Chacharoti-Khatalgaon-Deepamai group pumping scheme and the Badangarh-Bhaundanda group pumping scheme. Several road projects were also opened, including improvement works on the Sheetlakhet-Kathpudia-Daulaghat road, Soni-Tilalikhet road and Ranikhet-Buchdi-Pant Kotuli-Gagas road.
Other works inaugurated included construction at Government Girls’ Inter College, Sarkot, flood protection works near the Kuthlad river in Chaukhutia, flood protection works in Siyanagar, Syalde market and along the Vinod river, a transit hostel at the Community Health Centre in Lamgara, and road surfacing work from the Chaykhan-Thuwasimal road towards Nirai gram panchayat in the Jageshwar area.
{{/usCountry}}Other works inaugurated included construction at Government Girls’ Inter College, Sarkot, flood protection works near the Kuthlad river in Chaukhutia, flood protection works in Siyanagar, Syalde market and along the Vinod river, a transit hostel at the Community Health Centre in Lamgara, and road surfacing work from the Chaykhan-Thuwasimal road towards Nirai gram panchayat in the Jageshwar area.
{{/usCountry}}A major share of the inaugurated works related to Soban Singh Jeena University, including the construction of its administrative building and vice-chancellor’s residence, along with additional construction work at the university.
The projects for which foundation stones were laid included a barrage at Govindpur-Daulaghat, beautification of Shri Saim Devta temple at Danya market, four classrooms at Government Inter College Mahakaleshwar in the Chaukhutia assembly constituency, and road improvement and surfacing works on the NTD-Kafadkhan-Dhaulchhina MDR road.
Foundation stones were also laid for surfacing work on the Majkhali Digoti-Majethi road in Dwarahat block, improvement of the remaining portion of the Almora-Khoot road, surfacing and improvement of the Mornaula-Jainti road in the Jageshwar assembly constituency, and one-time maintenance works on roads in Lamgara block.
Dhami said Almora has cultural, historical and tourism importance and that infrastructure projects were being taken up in line with local requirements. He said completion of these works would help improve public services and support social and economic activity in the district.
Union Minister of State Ajay Tamta, district panchayat chairperson Hema Gaida, Ranikhet MLA Dr Pramod Nainwal, Soban Singh Jeena University Vice-Chancellor Satpal Singh Bisht, District Magistrate Anshul Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Chandrashekhar R Ghodke were among those present.
The projects announced in Almora include road, drinking water, education, healthcare and civic infrastructure works. Officials said the package includes both completed projects and new works for which foundation stones were laid.