Shimla, June 21 -- Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presided over the North Zone Inter-State Interactive Session on 'Quality Assurance in Public Works Departments', attended by senior officers and engineers from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan on Saturday. Talking to the media, Sukhu said that interactive sessions organised by the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (PWD) are focusing on future challenges and their solutions in the infrastructure sector. "The challenges of the future and their solutions are being discussed through interactive sessions organised by the PWD," Sukhu said. Addressing the gathering, the CM said that the state government had initiated wide-ranging reforms in the PWD to equip it to effectively meet future challenges. He said that Himachal Pradesh has witnessed several natural disasters over the past three years, where the role of the PWD had been highly commendable. He said that the impacts of climate change and natural disasters were already visible in Himachal Pradesh and were likely to affect other states in the future as well. He said that nearly 90% of the state's geographical area was mountainous, making road connectivity a basic necessity. He said that the PWD must now move towards advanced infrastructure development, including tunnel construction and high-rise buildings. "While adopting new technologies and work practices may present challenges, these must be overcome to ensure sustainable development," he said....