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 event was held at the new administrative building of Soban Singh Jeena University in Almora. According to officials, the package includes 17 projects 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 road connectivity, drinking water supply, education, healthcare, irrigation, urban development, parking facilities and rural infrastructure. Dhami said the works were intended to strengthen basic services in the hill district and improve access to public facilities in both urban and rural areas.
He said the state government was working to expand road links, healthcare services, educational facilities and drinking water schemes across Uttarakhand, with a focus on people living in remote and hill regions.
Among the projects inaugurated were construction of damaged residential facilities and a conference hall in Ranikhet tehsil, a boundary wall at Government Women’s Polytechnic, Almora, parking facilities at Bhairav Mandir, Government Inter College Almora and the KMOU bus stand, and drinking water schemes including the Chacharoti-Khatalgaon-Deepamai and Badangarh-Bhaundanda group pumping schemes.
Road projects opened on the occasion included improvement works on the Sheetlakhet-Kathpudia-Daulaghat road, Soni-Tilalikhet road and Ranikhet-Buchdi-Pant Kotuli-Gagas road. Other inaugurated works included construction at Government Girls’ Inter College, Sarkot, flood protection works in Chaukhutia and Syalde, a transit hostel at the Community Health Centre in Lamgara, and road surfacing work in the Jageshwar area.
A major component of the inaugurated projects related to Soban Singh Jeena University, including the construction of its administrative building and vice-chancellor’s residence, along with additional construction work.
The foundation stones were laid for projects including a barrage at Govindpur-Daulaghat, beautification of Shri Saim Devta temple at Danya market, four classrooms at Government Inter College Mahakaleshwar, and road improvement and surfacing works on the NTD-Kafadkhan-Dhaulchhina MDR road.
Other projects for which foundation stones were laid included 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’s cultural, historical and tourism significance made infrastructure development in the district important. He said the completion of these works would help improve public services and support social and economic activity in the region.
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.
