Uttarakhand being a land of spirituality endowed with immense natural beauty, the industrial development here should not be allowed at the cost of nature, said the Union Minister of State for health and family welfare and AYUSH, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey while addressing a sectoral session on health and wellness on the concluding day of Destination Uttarakhand-Investors Summit- 2018 here on Monday. He said that the State should focus more on pilgrimage rather than tourism.
The Union Minister narrated emotionally his personal experience when he and his family had remained stuck for four days at Kedarnath when the deluge ravaged the area around the fabled shrine in 2013. “I have seen death and destruction the deluge brought about from close quarters. I am now unshakable in my belief that there should be no compromise on nature and environment.
Uttarakhand being the Devbhoomi, the abode of the gods, it should be allowed to retain its deified stature and sanctity,’’ he said. Chaubey suggested that the State should link health and wellness with the religious tourism which he opined would be very beneficial for the State.
The State forest and AYUSH Minister Harak Singh Rawat said that Uttarakhand has a forest cover of 71 percent and it accounts for 28 percent of bio-diversity of the country. “The rest of India should take into account the fact that both Ganga and Yamuna are clean till they are in Uttarakhand. Similarly, all the areas of the State, including the capital Dehradun, are relatively noise pollution free, something which makes the State ideally suited for setting up health and wellness industry,” Rawat said. He, further, said that the State Government having given industry status to tourism, the Government is giving ten percent additional subsidy in setting up the industry in the State.
Acharya Balkrishna of Patanjali Ayurved said that Uttarakhand has best environment for Ayush.
Besides, proximity to National Capital Region (NCR) provides a ready market, he added.
He exhorted the entrepreneurs to have self-confidence and shun inhibitions and move forward on the plans to set up health and wellness centres in the State.