The second Uttarakhand adventure car rally was flagged off from Dehradun by the State Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai in the presence of Chief Secretary N Ravishankar on Sunday. Stating that Uttarakhand has picturesque locales and a good road network, Dhanai added that through motorsport activities, the State can draw a large number of adventure tourists. Speaking on the occasion, Dhanai said that tourists can participate in the rally and also experience Uttarakhand’s other adventure activities like skiing, white-water rafting, mountaineering and wildlife photography.
The Uttarakhand adventure car rally co-organised by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board with the Shimla-based motorsport club, Himalayan Motorsport, was flagged off at 3 pm instead of the scheduled 4 pm in view of the weather. State Tourism Secretary Umakant Panwar said that tourism is the economic mainstay of the State and the focus of the rally is on getting tourists back to its green vales after the June 2013 disaster. The Uttarakhand adventure car rally has 35 teams - each comprising of a driver and navigator- driving cars and SUVs across about 1,000 km in the State. Panwar said that the rally marks the resurgence of tourism in the State.
“Uttarakhand has world class holiday destinations for families and youth alike. The roads are good again, and we invite all tourists to enjoy the unique holiday experience here,” he said.The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board has its own official team participating in the rally with district adventure sports officers Jaspal Chauhan and Sushil Nautiyal competing in the rally. Chauhan is posted at Tehri while Nautiyal is posted at Mussoorie.
Himalayan Motorsport president Vijay Parmar said that after the internationally popular Himalayan rally, motorsport has been re-started in Uttarakhand on a small scale. Motorsport has much potential to grow in Uttarakhand, and will showcase its excellent tourism destinations nationally and internationally, he said.Officials agree that the participation of local persons in the rally will lead to a trickle-down benefit for the State. All over the world, motorsport has built strong tourism networks. More and more participation will teach the locals what a Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) rally is all about. Then the local clubs or associations here can also organise such events. It will lead to employment for the youth and also draw more tourists to the State.
The TSD format is the sober form of motorsport that allows competitors to go slow in thickly populated areas, and stick to specified speed limits at all times. With this friendly format of motorsport, the State wants to give a push to its adventure tourism portfolio. The Uttarakhand adventure car rally is being supported by Maruti Suzuki and JK Tyres. From Dehradun, the participants will drive through Devprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag and Nandprayag to Auli. On day two, the rally will come down from Auli to Ramnagar and will end at Dehradun on day three.