Himachal Chief Minister renames road in Dharamsala as Potala Road
DHARAMSALA, Jun 23: The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh yesterday renamed the 2.5 Km road stretching from Mcleod Ganj to Dharamsala via Gangchen Kyishong, the headquarters of the Tibetan Administration as Potala Road.
The Chief Minister was in town to attend the grand birthday celebrations of the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama who turned 80 on Jun 21 (corresponding to 5th day of the 5th month in the Tibetan lunar calendar) and the road was renamed in honour of the Tibetan leader on the second day of the two-day celebrations where the Chief Minister attended as the Chief Guest.
The novel idea to rename the road was initiated by Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected political leader of the Tibetan people and was finally processed through the Divisional Commissioner’s Office with the unanimous approval of all the local politicians, MLA and finally by the Chief Minister himself, the Central Tibetan Administration said on its Tibet.net website Jun 23.
Wishing the Himachal Chief Minister who turned 81 today a very happy birthday, Sikyong Sangay thanked the Chief Minister and the people of Himachal Pradesh for the great gesture.
“I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for this beautiful gesture on the part of the Chief Minister and the people of Himachal Pradesh,” Sikyong Sangay said.
The Tibetan spiritual leader’s traditional winter palace is known as Potala.
The road earlier known as Jogiwara Road was recently successfully renovated halfway from the main temple in Mcleaod Ganj till Delek Hospital near Gangchen Kyishong with a 7 inch-thick concrete to withstand the might of the notorious monsoon rains in Dharamsala. The lower half of the road from Delek Hospital till Dharamsala will be completed soon as renovation work has already begun.
