Shimla, Aug. 15 -- Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu virtually inaugurated the tribal festival at Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district from Shimla on Thursday. The festival, which will conclude on August 16, is being organised for the first time in the state on the theme of "zero waste". Sukhu said the event would promote environmental conservation and showcase the unique art and culture of the district. It would provide tourists an opportunity to know the region better. He said that the festival symbolises the commitment to preserving its heritage and would inspire people to celebrate responsibly. Sukhu said that climate change has posed serious challenges to the country and the state and Lahaul-Spiti was no exception, with unusually heavy rainfall in the district being a major cause of concern. Sukhu also laid the foundation stone for five bridges in Udaipur sub-division under PMGSY Phase-3, to be built at a cost of Rs.36,41,78,000. These include a 35 metre steel truss bridge over Chaikhang Nallah costing Rs.9.93 crore, a 49-metre double-lane steel truss bridge over the Chenab River costing Rs.9.46 crore, a 22-metre RCC T-beam bridge over Kishori Nallah costing Rs.17.68 crore, a 76-metre RCC beam bridge over Teling Nallah costing Rs.13.35 crore and a 22-metre RCC beam bridge over Moring Nallah costing Rs.1.89 crore. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated the 76th State-Level Van-Mahotsav at the Kanlog area in Shimla on Thursday. He also planted a deodar sapling during the event. Sukhu launched the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana across all assembly constituencies and virtually interacted with Ministers and MLAs participating in the programme and discussed forest conservation and afforestation measures in detail. He said that the state government was working to protect and enrich the rich biodiversity of the state. These efforts would contribute to achieving the target of increasing 30% forest cover by 2030....