Students Enjoy Interaction Session with CM during Shimla’s 200 Years Celebration

Ashima Sharma, 27th June, 2015, Shimla

Students of Auckland House Girls School, St Edwards School and DAV Lakkar Bazar shared an interactive session with the hon’ble Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and the Health Minister, Kaul Singh Thakur during the event “Sapno Ka Shimla” — celebrating 200 years of being the Summer Capital of the country. The event was organized by Zee TV network in collaboration with Aryan Group of Colleges. Other notable panel guests included G.S. Bali, Food and Transport Minister; Sanjay Chauhan, Mayor; M.P. Sood, Director Public Relation, Shimla; Dinesh Sharma, Editor and Channel Head Zee Punjab; and Dr Anshu Kataria, Chairman, Aryan Group of Colleges. Senior journalists of Zee News presented the show.

The interactive session gave a platform to the students to share their ideas, discuss their problems and pose questions directly to the chief minister. Meera, a student of Auckland House School, asked a question about the outflow of students to nearby states, when it comes to career options after Class 12, to which the  CM said, “There are private universities that have come up in Himachal as well. We are trying to build a strong educational system in Himachal. In our tenure of two and a half years we have focused on skill development and connectivity to all high schools in Himachal located in interior areas”.

The CM showed reservations when asked about reducing forest cover in Shimla by Amatya from DAV Lakaar Bazar and said, “The pictures taken from satellites show that the forest cover in Shimla has increased in the past few years. Our government has very strict norms when it comes to axing of trees and reducing green cover”.

Answering about the rising monkey menace question asked by Ankita of DAV Lakkar Bazar, he said, “Monkeys have always been there in Shimla but it is due to people’s own mistake and littering habits that they have become a menace. Recently I saw a video in which the school kids were teasing a monkey and it pounced on them, in these kinds of cases if the injury occurs, monkeys cannot be blamed”.

On being asked about one of the major problems of Shimla, parking, he said, “A new initiative has been taken by the government to curb the problem of rising traffic and parking issues in the city. Shimla has become the second city to make the provision of parking space mandatory before buying a vehicle. Another initiative that has been taken to reduce traffic congestion in the town is converting of the Dhalli workshop into a bus stand for the buses plying for upper regions of Shimla and Kinnaur district besides Karsog areas of the State. It will reduce regular traffic jams on the Lakkar Bazar road also.

At the end of the interactive session the CM said, “I really enjoyed my interaction with the students today, not every day do I get this opportunity to sit face to face with the youth of the city and clear their doubts and queries. There is much to learn from these young minds. I wish all the children a bright future”.

The health minister also answered a few questions asked by the young minds of Shimla, Vidyunsh from St Edwards School put up very relevant question regarding the health problems in Shimla and lack of medical facilities to which Kaul Singh Thakur said, “The setting up AIIMS in Bilaspur has already been approved by the center government. AIIMS in the state will ensure quality healthcare facilities and save trips to Chandigarh and Delhi for specialized treatments”.

The interaction session ended with a speech by Dr Anshu Kataria who said that Aryans is proud to be a part of this gala event. He further said that he appreciates the efforts of Zee TV for managing the event with great zeal and through this interactive session few very serious concerns were shared about Shimla City and how to address them as well.