Chief Minister Harish Rawat said that though they have achieved a lot over the past 15 years since Uttarakhand was bifurcated from Uttar Pradesh they have miles to go. “Even if we achieve the present goal we would not sleep. Rather, we would set and reset new ones so that we go on shaping the dream with unwavering zeal,” he said while releasing a book “Ubharta Uttarakhand-Unnat Uttarakhand (Rising Uttarakhand- Developed Uttarakhand), which was compiled by Department of information and Pubic Relation to mark the 16th State foundation day at the Chief Minister’s residence on Monday.
CM said that Uttarakhand has carved a niche for itself as the fastest growing economy among the States of the Union.
“Our State is being recognised as a model State among those located in the Himalayan region. Our per capita income is the second highest in the country. Even we managed survive the cataclysm that befell us in 2013. It all happened because we were united like a rock when the calamity struck. This year, we have received around 10 lakh pilgrims for the Char Dhams. The mounting number of the pilgrims’ footfalls bears testimony to the fact that we have managed to leave the nightmare far behind. However, we cannot afford to be complacent. Now, we have to draw a new roadmap to scale new pinnacles of progress by October 2016. Currently 500 roads are being constructed by PWD and we have asked Rural Engineering Service (RES) to start constructing rural roads as well. Our foremost priority is to make the Char Dham pilgrimage fully safe so that the pilgrims do not feel the least of hassles,” CM said.
He also appealed to the media to support them in their endeavour to new-make the State. “Media’s positive support will go a long way to promote the Char Dham Yatra,” he said.
Claiming that Uttarkhand has never ceased to beckon the people from across the country, he said things would look up more in the coming days. “For instance, the people are now ascending up to Munsyari and it is our duty to provide them a hospitable hand. Besides, we cannot ignore 30 lakh of our brethren who live in the remote or border regions of the State,” CM said.