Bhatiyat water projects worth Rs 419 crore were inaugurated or given foundation stones in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district on Tuesday, covering drinking water, irrigation, sewerage, flood protection, roads and public buildings across the constituency. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced the projects during a visit to Chowari and said additional welfare and public infrastructure measures would follow.
The 36 projects are being taken up by the water resources and public works departments. Their stated objectives include expanding drinking water supply, improving sewerage infrastructure, protecting villages from flooding and strengthening road connectivity in Bhatiyat constituency.
Among the projects inaugurated was a Rs 60.8-crore lift water supply scheme covering villages across the constituency. Other completed water-related works included a Rs 19.2-crore sewerage scheme for Chowari, an Rs 11.6-crore water supply scheme for Samote and adjoining villages, and flood-protection works worth Rs 4.2 crore for Jatroon, Trimath and Saloh villages.
Water supply projects at Kakira Kasba and Gahar, costing Rs 37.5 crore and Rs 8.8 crore respectively, were also inaugurated. The projects are intended to improve access to basic water infrastructure in a region where settlements are spread across hilly terrain and service delivery depends on extensive networks and pumping systems.
The chief minister also laid foundation stones for seven Jal Shakti projects. These include a Rs 31.5-crore sewerage system for Sihunta and adjoining areas, water supply improvements worth Rs 34 crore, and firefighting systems for Kakira, Chowari, Sihunta and Samote. The announcement brings sanitation, emergency response and water access into the same public works programme rather than treating them as isolated services.
The public works component includes five inaugurated road and bridge projects. These include the upgrade of the Chowari-Jot road at a cost of Rs 20.3 crore and construction of a bridge over the Narellue stream on the Sihunta-Jolna Khas road. Foundation stones were also laid for 14 public works projects covering link roads, a new circuit house at Chowari costing Rs 9.7 crore and a combined office building at Sihunta costing Rs 22 crore.
The road and bridge works are significant for the functioning of water and public services because access infrastructure determines how quickly construction materials, maintenance teams, emergency vehicles and public officials can reach dispersed settlements. The supplied announcement, however, does not specify construction schedules, procurement status or completion deadlines for the individual projects.
Addressing a public meeting at Chowari Chowgan, Sukhu announced that a civil court would be opened at Chowari and that CBSE-affiliated schools would be established in the constituency. He also announced Rs 10 crore for road projects, although details of the roads to be covered were not provided in the report.
Sukhu further said the state government would launch the Mukhyamantri Ka Apna Parivar Sukhi Parivar Yojana from the following month. Under the proposed scheme, eligible women from poor families would receive Rs 1,500 per month, 300 units of free electricity and free medical treatment through health insurance cards. The chief minister said around 20,000 women from 10,000 eligible families in Bhatiyat would benefit.
The next steps are the implementation of the foundation-stone projects and the proposed launch of the welfare scheme. The report does not provide project-wise completion timelines or details of the administrative arrangements for monitoring the works.
