On the occasion of the 67th Republic Day, Uttarakhand Governor Dr K K Paul has greeted the people of the State while paying tribute to the martyrs, who laid down their lives while defending the borders of the country and their families. He further said that they all must reiterate their resolve to keep alive the essence of the Republic which has given each citizen, regardless of caste, religion and community, the right to justice, equality and freedom.
Uttarakhand has completed only fifteen years of its existence as a separate state of this democratic country, he said, adding that even in this short span, efforts to develop the State in keeping with the peoples’ aspirations have been underway. “We have made achievements despite several challenges. However, these are not enough. For ensuring the acceleration of the state’s progress, we will have to focus on all those areas which can help make life easier and empower for the common man. Our objective should be to bridge the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” he said.
Dr Paul said, “ I have completed more than a year as the Governor of Uttarakhand. During this period, I visited several remote areas of the State to understand the problems of the people. I felt that some of the hill areas in the State are still without the basic amenities. Schools do not have enough teachers and hospitals do not have the required doctors. People have no access to potable water. In many parts of the State, there is lack of means of transport, proper roads and sources of livelihood. The migration which results from this is a cause for concern. The State government is working dedicatedly for rural development. They should ensure that all the schemes that are being launched for development in the state must have peoples’ participation and should be completed in time. Only then will real development be possible. It is an important responsibility of the government to provide basic facilities to each citizen without any discrimination on the basis of religion, language or gender. We must also ensure that the right to service implemented by the government will help every citizen enjoy his or her rights which are enshrined in the constitution. The government needs to take steps in this direction.”
There are great possibilities of development in the state in the spheres of agriculture, horticulture, and cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, Dr Paul said. Schemes of the state government for self-employment in these spheres should be regularly monitored, he said.
Sounding happy with the implementation of several development programmes like “Hito Pahad, Hito Gaon” under which “Mera gaon, Mera Dhan” and “mera gaon, meri sadak” schemes have been implemented, he said micro hydroelectric projects policy and rural tourism promotion would also go a long way. Calling the women of the State as the basis of society, he said the world respects them for their role in environment protection movement. Schemes for their education and empowerment must be implemented with all seriousness, he said.
Dwelling on the industrial development of the State, he said that unnecessary tampering with nature is no good. There is a need for making special schemes for setting up handloom, powerloom, dairy, floriculture and horticulture units in the hill area, he said adding that marketing systems will also have to be set up .
Referring to the youth, the Governor said the youths should be transformed from a job-seeking segment to a job-providing category. “For this, we need to bring qualitative improvement in higher education in the State.We need an education system which will build the character of our youth and encourage them to think innovatively and be creative, confident and self-dependent. For this, we need to focus on skill development and vocational education that can empower our youth, making them self employed and ensuring a check on migration from the hill state,” he said.
“We have to give the youngsters an opportunity and space to develop and exhibit their imagination, originality and talent,” he stressed.