Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Sunday urged the people to unite in thinking about the welfare of the State and facilitating swift development in the State. The Chief Minister stated this while inaugurating the Raibar programme being organised to mark the 17th years of the State formation.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Prime Minister’s secretary Bhaskar Khulbe, Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh, Railway Board Chairman Ashwini lohani, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and other invited guests were among those present on the occasion.
Army chief General Bipin Rawat said the lack of education and health facilities was the main reason for migration from the mountainous regions. While encouraging tourism in the State, the Army chief also said State would have to preserve its native culture. Along with school education, higher education centres should also be opened in the mountainous regions. Many areas which were unknown to the tourists so far should also be made known to them. Tourism should be encouraged through activities like trekking and mountain biking, he added.
Addressing the media in between sessions of the Raibar programme, the Chief Minister said all the dignitaries invited to the event had appreciated the initiative which was unique in the 17 years since creation of the State.
Stating that the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the State would also be visiting schools and interact with students to motivate them, he said the other senior officers from the all-India level too had expressed their willingness to do the same if invited by the State.
He said the Prime Minister’s Secretary Bhaskar Khulbe had stressed on the need of according special focus to skill development in the State.
Rawat said speakers in the programme had also spoken on the need for including agriculture and horticulture in the education curriculum. The vision 2020 was also discussed with speakers stating that a roadmap for this purpose should be ready along with district level development plans. Migration was also among the major issues discussed on the occasion, the chief minister informed the media.
Earlier, during the inaugural session of the programme, the Chief Minister informed the gathering about the various measures taken by his Government during its seven months in office so far. He said the State Government had taken steps to provide good governance and a corruption free Uttarakhand. Prime Minister’s Secretary Bhaskar Khulbe said all concerned authorities and people should come together and deliberate upon what can be done for the development of the State.
He said special focus will have to be laid on skill development for swift development of the State. Plans will have to be made on the basis of mapping according to the local requirements. For each district, the mapping should be done based on local requirements at least for the next 10 years.
Railway Board Chairman Ashwini lohani said tourism will have to be encouraged for development of Uttarakhand. For this to happen, it is also important to develop new hill stations and publicise them. He also stressed on the need of master plan for hill stations.
Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh said special attention will have to be given to quality education, sanitation and self employment in order to achieve all round development of the State. It is vital to instil the values of honesty, responsibility and hard work among the youth to help the State prosper. Rural Development and Migration Commission Vice Chairman Sharad Singh Negi said migration was taking place at an alarming pace in the State.
About 968 villages are now deserted while in 1,000 villages less than 100 people are residing.
Stress will have to be laid on employment, human resources and basic requirements in the mountainous regions in order to stem migration, he added.
Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology, Director General Rajendra Dobhal stressed on the need of developing sustainable tourism. ONGC Director (HR) DD Mishra said programme should be held annually so that non-resident Uttarakhandis can also deliberate upon cooperation for development of the State.
State Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, BJP State president Ajay Bhatt, Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh, Director General of Police Anil Kumar Raturi, senior officials and selected school students were also among the invited guests present on the occasion.