Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat would unfurl the national tri-colour near the restive Indo-China border in Chamoli district of the State on the occasion of Independence Day. The CM would hoist the national flag at Gamshali village located near Barahoti area for the I-Day celebration from where reports of repeated Chinese incursion poured in last month.

The CM told newsmen at the State secretariat on Wednesday that Badrinath MlA Mahendra Bhatt had requested him to attend a fair which is held in the Gamshali village on August 15 and to hoist the national flag there. “I accepted the proposal of the MlA. I would visit Gamshali village after I attend the official ceremony at Dehradun on the day,’’ he said. Bhatt put the suggestion when he met the CM at the State secretariat on Wednesday.

located en route the last inhabited village Niti, Gamshali is about 80 kms away from Joshimath.

It is said that the village being so remote from the mainland, the people living in the area had received the news of  India attaining  freedom five days  after on August 20, 1947.  Every year on the occasion of Independence Day, a large fair is organised in this remote village located near the Sino- Indian border.

It is expected that the CM would grant special status of State Fair to the fair during his visit.

The visit of Uttarakhand CM to area located on China border has assumed significance in the wake of the reported intrusion of Chinese troops in the Barahoti area of Chamoli district. “There is, of course, a message underlying the upcoming visit of the CM. It is to reiterate the resolve of the State Government to remain emotionally connected with the villages situated in the vicinity of the strategic frontiers. This is also meant to make clear that the State Government is alert vis-a-vis the repeated incursion of the Chinese troops into the remote areas of the State,” said an observer. 

Reports suggest that soldiers of People’s liberation Army (PlA) crossed over to Indian Territory on July 6, 7, 9 and 10 in Barahoti area. In one of these intrusions, 32 Chinese troops had reportedly came at least four kilometres inside the Indian side.

Uttarakhand shares a 375 km-long international boundary with China in the Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts.

Apart from reported intrusion in Barahoti area, the border areas in the State are more or less peaceful.