The French Ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain called on Punjab Governor and Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, Shri Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday during his visit to Chandigarh.
In a very cordial meeting held at Punjab Raj Bhavan, the Administrator, UT, said that Chandigarh’s French connection can never be forgotten because from the conceptualization of the City to its planning and execution, French contribution has been immense. He said that French Architect Le Corbusier designed this ‘City Beautiful’ and the French consultants are now rendering expertise in transforming the City into the ‘Smart City’. He said that Chandigarh will look forward towards French expertise in the area of identification, restoration and legal protection of heritage furniture as well as in the preservation of architectural heritage of the City. He appreciated French support in water supply project.
To cater to the gap of demand and supply in water, a 24X7 water supply project is to be initiated soon in the City with the financial assistance from French Government Development Agency. The French envoy assured all support and informed that French experts will look into the restoration and conservation works in Capitol Complex and other exposed reinforced concrete buildings. He suggested partnerships with higher educational institutions for greater educational opportunities for students of India in France. ‘As of now nearly 10,000 students from India are studying in France and we hope that the number will double by the next year’, he said.
Emmanuel Lenain while interacting with the Administrator said that the two countries have shared good working relations, and added that finding new solutions in area of mutual interest would further help in strengthening the relations. Tie ups for knowledge sharing in the field of architecture, ideas for traffic management in the City on Paris pattern were among the other things touched upon. The information on clean, green Smart City Project, urban renewal of villages, waste management and up gradation of infrastructure was shared.
Dharam Pal, Adviser to Administrator, JM Balamurugan, Principal Secretary to Governor, Mr. Nitin Kumar Yadav, IAS, Home Secretary and UT, Dr. Vijay Namdeorao Zade, Finance Secretary were also present during the meeting.
