Karnal, Nov 1 (IANS): Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday equipped 288 'chaupals' of Karnal district with wi-fi internet under the Bharat Net Project.

While inaugurating the e-chaupal programme here the occasion of Haryana Day, the Chief Minister directly interacted with beneficiary sarpanches.

He said with the wi-fi facility people will now have access to more than 550 government schemes and services at their doorsteps.

The Chief Minister said out of 382 gram panchayats in Karnal, optical fibre in 288 panchayats has been laid. Accordingly, internet facility is functioning in 225 gram panchayats.

Earlier, people had to visit government offices for their day-to-day work. Now, due to internet they can do their work while sitting at home.

The internet charges are also very nominal and a person can use the internet by spending only Rs 10, he said.

The Chief Minister said people can take advantage of 550 services and schemes whose forms are available online in Haryana.

One such farmer-friendly government scheme is 'Meri Fasal Mera Byora' whereby farmers can avail benefits of government schemes directly after uploading their crop-related details, he added.

On his interaction with the sarpanch of Gadpur Khalsa regarding the number of Wi-Fi connections in the village, the sarpanch said the people of the village were being benefitted from the scheme of the government and so far 80 people have taken private connections.

The sarpanch said people in private jobs and students pursuing coaching classes have also taken advantage of this service.