Hamirpur to get underground power, water network

Underground ducts for electricity lines and water pipes will be constructed in Hamirpur town to improve safety for residents, Political Adviser to Chief Minister Sunil Sharma Bittu said here on Monday. The project will cost Rs 45 crore.

He was speaking after inaugurating a real-time drinking water monitoring system installed by the Jal Shakti Department at a cost of Rs 18 lakh. He said information regarding water quality would be continuously displayed on an LED screen, keeping department officials alert whenever the quality of water was compromised. The system would help ensure the availability of high-quality drinking water for residents, he said.

Talking about the underground electricity lines and water pipes, Bittu said the first instalment of Rs 15 crore had already been released to the department. The underground ducts would be five feet wide and five feet deep and would be constructed along the road from Shaheed Captain Mridul Sharma Chowk to Bhota Chowk through the main bazaar and bus stand road.

The initiative would rid the town of the web of overhead power cables, utility poles and haphazardly laid pipes, he said. He said Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had scripted a new success story of development in the district over the past three and a half years by sanctioning major projects such as a medical college, dental college, nursing college, allied health services college, cancer care institute, integrated science college and a bus stand, besides several other projects.

Naresh Thakur, Convener and Adviser of the State Drug De-addiction Board, Ajay Sharma, chairman of the APMC, Suman Bharti, president of the District Congress Committee, and officials of the Jal Shakti Department were also present on the occasion.