SHIMLA-8^th May, 2025

Contribute generously towards Red Cross fund : CM

A group of children and Red Cross Volunteers called on Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh here today, on the occasion of World Red Cross Day-2025 and affixed Red Cross stickers. The Chief Minister also contributed towards the Red Cross fund and urged the people to contribute generously towards it.

He said that on this occasion we honour the selfless spirit of humanitarian service that the Red Cross Volunteers represent. He said, "Let us take a moment to recognize and appreciate the tireless efforts of Red Cross Volunteers and workers around the world, those who rush to the frontlines of crisis, deliver aid in times of disasters, and bring hope where it is needed the most."

Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, Councillors of Municipal Corporation Shimla and members of H.P Red Cross Society were also present on the occasion.

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SHIMLA-8^th May, 2025

State bags prestigious infrastructure Awards, CM congratulates team

Secretary Public Works Department and Managing Director Himachal Pradesh Road and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (HPRIDCL) Dr. Abhishek Jain presented two trophies to the Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu here today, in recognition of Himachal Pradesh's outstanding achievements in infrastructure development and road safety.

HPRIDCL has been conferred with Shinning Star in the prestigious 2024 iRAP Gary Liddle Memorial Trophy in Marrakech in Morocco recently. This global recognition is awarded to the World's best performing Road Authority working towards the elimination of high risk roads. Whereas, Shimla Smart City Limited has been awarded the Smart Cities India Award-2025 under the 'Innovation in urban mobility' category for the construction of Dhalli tunnel and the rotary junction outside the tunnel, that have significantly helped in decongesting traffic in Shimla.

The Chief Minister congratulated the officers and employees working in both the organizations for their dedicated efforts and expressed hope that they will continue to work with the same commitment in addressing the problems faced by the people of Shimla city. He said that the State Government will extend full cooperation in creating smarter, safer and more sustainable urban and rural mobility infrastructure across the State.

Sh. Sukhu said that HPRIDCL's road safety initiative reflects holistic, collaborative efforts working closely with World Bank, Himachal Pradesh Police, Public Works Department, local agencies and community volunteers. It has achieved impressive scale and success in delivering road upgrades using holistic evidence based road safety action plan with live saving impact. A significant reduction in crashes has been achieved especially on critical State Corridors.

Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said that road safety has remained one of the top most priorities of the State Government and it is indeed a matter of pride that we have recorded a significant decline in road accidents and fatalities in recent times. The best international practices should be skilled up to further improve road safety scenarios in the State so that the State may serve as an inspiration for other States.

Managing Director HPRIDCL said that these two awards are significant achievements as the International Road Assessment Programme (IRAP) is a registered charity with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and getting recognition from the prestigious organization affiliated with the UN is a remarkable feat. He said that HPRIDCL will continue to develop safer and higher quality infrastructure for the betterment of the State.