CM Sukhu promises Churah farmers Rs 50/kg maize, schools and health boost
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
A remote corner of Chamba district became the stage for a string of concrete commitments on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, as Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu addressed a large public rally at Bhanjrardu in the Churah assembly constituency — announcing a natural-maize procurement price, fresh doctor recruitment, and an expanded pool of postgraduate medical seats for the region.
Speaking to the gathering, CM Sukhu said — in Hindi — 'ग्रामीण अर्थव्यवस्था को मजबूती देने के लिए प्राकृतिक रूप से उगाई गई मक्की 50 रुपये प्रति किलोग्राम की दर से खरीदी जाएगी' ('Naturally grown maize will be purchased at the rate of Rs 50 per kilogram to strengthen the rural economy'). For farmers in Churah — a constituency defined by hilly terrain and limited market access — a guaranteed procurement rate directly undercuts the need to sell at distressed prices to private traders.
Tissa school's CBSE affiliation and what it means for Churah students
On education, the Chief Minister pointed to a step already taken: the government school at Tissa has been affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The move places students in a remote Chamba-district village on the same national curriculum track as their urban counterparts, opening access to the full range of competitive entrance examinations that require CBSE-based schooling. It is a small institutional shift with outsized consequences for first-generation learners in the hills.
Doctor recruitment and the goal of zero referrals outside Churah
Healthcare in the constituency is getting a direct intervention too. Sukhu said the government is actively recruiting doctors for Churah so that residents no longer have to travel outside the area for treatment. The stated goal — zero out-of-constituency referrals for routine care — addresses a chronic pain point in Himachal's hill districts, where the nearest specialist hospital can be several hours away on mountain roads. Separately, an increase in postgraduate medical seats at state colleges was flagged as a benefit that will reach Chamba district residents, widening the pipeline of doctors trained for and potentially retained in the region.
Who shared the stage at Bhanjrardu
The rally drew a cross-section of the Congress ecosystem in the district. Chamba MLA Neeraj Nayar, former minister Asha Kumari, former MLA Surendra Bhardwaj, Congress leader Yashwant Khanna, and Himachal Pradesh Haj Committee chairman Dildar Ali Bhatt were all present — a gathering that signals both party unity in the constituency and the political weight the administration is attaching to Churah ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Three interlocking commitments — a price floor for farmers, a national-board school for children, and doctors hired locally — form a tightly argued case that Churah is no longer an afterthought. Whether procurement operations at Rs 50 per kilogram materialise on the ground, and how quickly the PG-seat expansion translates into posted doctors, will tell the real story.