Kathmandu. Dharma Raj Bartola has been unanimously elected as the president of gandaki state chamber of industry. The third annual general meeting and second session held in Pokhara on Saturday elected a new working committee under the chairmanship of Bartola.

Dipendra Raj Bastakoti, Bikram Karmacharya, Krishna Prasad Gautam and Rudra Lal Shrestha were elected vice-presidents. Madhav Bastakoti, Yagya Regmi, Rajeshwor Acharya, Phanindra Sharma, Prakash Bharti, Aparna Pokharel, Ganesh Bahadur Thapa and Prakash Acharya are the members.

Established in 1977 BS, the confederation has 65 members. In the past, the Confederation has been giving budgetary suggestions to the provincial and federal governments, conducting technical training through the ‘INSUR’ project and providing free stalls to the industrialists at the Industrial Trade Fair held in Pokhara.

Expressing concern over the growing trade deficit and import-oriented economy making the country dependent, the newly elected President Bartola said they were ready to work together with the government to come out of it.