Chief Minister vows to develop Haripur-Guler

Tribune News Service
Shimla, January 9

Independent MLA from Dehra Hoshyar Singh today urged the government to constitute a Haripur-Guler development board which would help promote the Guler miniature paintings and develop the area for tourism purposes.

The MLA today made a presentation “Painting art history of world renowned Haripur-Guler” before Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur in the presence of Chief Secretary BK Agarwal and senior officers of the Tourism and Language, Art and Culture departments.

The Chief Minister assured him that the government would ensure development of the Haripur-Guler area of Kangra district since the area had a large number of historical monuments.

He said efforts would also be made to restore old havelis, wells and water bodies to develop the place from heritage point of view. Thakur said there were several temples in the area such as Kalyanrai, Goverdhandhary, Tararani temple or Ramchandra Temple which were national treasure owing to their unique craftsmanship and stone carving. He said the government would consider constituting the Haripur-Guler development board on the pattern of the Renukaji Development Board.

He said the world-famous Pong Dam was not only a bird watchers’ paradise but also an ideal place for water sports. He said lakhs of birds from far-off places like Siberia, Tibet, China and Mangolia migrated to the Pong Dam every year during winter. The government was contemplating to develop the area as a major tourist circuit. Efforts would be made to start water sports activities such as rafting, boating, shikara and scuba diving in the Pong.

The Chief Minister was presented a painting by Dhani Ram, a famous miniature artist, on the occasion.

Hoshyar Singh urged the Chief Minister to provide liberal assistance to develop the area, besides helping in conserving the Guler miniature paintings.