Dharamshala, Aug 6 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday said although the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the pace of development in the state, the government is trying its best to meet their deadlines.

Also Read | Delhi Police Arrest Accused in Pashchim Vihar Rape Case: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on August 6, 2020.

Chairing a meeting of state ministers, MPs and MLAs and Kangra district here, Thakur also lauded the district administration for keeping the number of COVID-19 cases under control, despite Kangra being the largest district in the state.

Also Read | Gaganyaan: Indian Astronauts Complete Training on Abnormal Landing in 3 Scenarios.

Directing officials to ensure that people wear face masks in public and maintain proper physical distancing, the chief minister said people must avoid social, cultural and religious gathering of more than fifty people.

He said the Centre is also providing all possible help to the state government to cope up with the pandemic.

The chief minister also asked officials and elected representatives to make efforts to remove the social stigma associated with the COVID-19 disease amongst the general public.

In the meeting held to review the developmental projects in the districts, Thakur asked officials to give top priority to the developmental commitments of the government which, he said, will not tolerate any laxity in implementation of the projects.

He asked officials to ensure time-bound completion of all projects to check their cost overrun so that people get benefits of the development at the earliest.

He also urged the concerned MLAs to ensure proper follow up so that the projects were executed at the earliest.

The meeting was also attended by state legislative assembly Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar, who said the Chief Minister has visited the district to review the developmental even in this pandemic and it shows his concern for the development of the district.

Thakur said work on all new roads and bridges announced by him in the district should be undertaken on priority so that they could be completed at the earliest.

He said projects under PMGSY, NABARD, CRF etc should be taken up on priority.

Thakur also instructed officials to lay stress laid on time-bound completion of projects as per MLAs' priorities.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)