Next year will be observed as trekking year in Uttarakhand, which will soon establish its global identity of also being a trekkers’ paradise, said Chief Minister Harish Rawat at Kedarnath on the auspicious Ashtami on Sunday.
As popular singer Kailash Kher sang some devotional compositions focused on lord Kedarnath, the Chief Minister too participated actively in the performance of devotional expressions while also releasing a telefilm based on Kedarnath on the occasion.
Earlier, while presiding over the conclusion of the Hito Kedar trekking expedition, Rawat declared that the next year will be observed as a ‘trekking year’.
He said, “Uttarakhand will soon enhance its international identity around the world by also emerging as a paradise for trekking. All possible effort is underway for this with the State tourism department being told to also develop 80 trekking routes in the State. There are considerable possibilities for adventure tourism in the State with a big part of the beauty of the Himalaya is untouched even now.”
Recalling the June 2013 disaster, the CM averred that facilities in Kedarnath and other Char Dham shrines
have been made better than in the past.
This year, a record breaking number of people visited the State with more than 14 lakh persons visiting the
Char Dham shrines and Hemkund so far.
The target for the coming year will be to double this year’s visitors’ numbers, said the CM who also felicitated members of trekking groups to Kedarnath which also included Government officials and mediapersons apart from trekkers and mountaineers.
The Garhwal commissioner Vinod Sharma was also felicitated by Rawat on the occasion.
The State’s tourism minister Dinesh Dhanai, Rishikesh-based Chidananda Saraswati, government officials, office bearers of the temple committee and other know personalities from various spheres were also among those present on the occasion.
It should be mentioned here that on the directions of the Chief Minister, Mountaineers and Trekkers Association, Uttarakhand (MATA), Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) and the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) had jointly started the Hito Kedar trekking expedition on October 2.
The expedition coordinator Manoj Rawat informed that nine trekking routes to Kedarnath were used
with the help of local youth, including the youth of villages Ransi, Gaundar, Chaumasi, Trijuginarayan, Sareshi, Gaurikund and others were also involved in the activity.