Sewerage scheme for HP towns in phased manner: CM

Bilaspur, Feb 5 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said efforts were on to create ideal municipal and hygienic conditions in the towns, especially those having prominent religious centres attracting devotees all round the year.

Addressing a public meeting at Shah Talai, in Geherwin assembly segment of district Bilaspur, on the first day of his two-day visit to the district yesterday, Mr Singh said all the towns were being provided sewerage facility in a phased manner in view of the rise in population.

Himachal had registered a growth rate of 8.2 per cent despite the state being agrarian in nature with over 90 per cent of the population dependent on agriculture for livelihood, he said.

He said the state's rural economy was totally dependent upon agriculture and horticulture sectors, adding that efforts were on to strengthen these sectors by modernising the traditional cropping system and encourage farmers to diversify their agro-farming, by cultivating cash crop to strengthen their economy.

New varieties of crops and fruits were being made available to the progressive farmers of the state, he said, adding that the state was emerging as the ''fruit bowl of India'' with farmers shifting to cultivation of modern high yielding fruit root-stock. UNI