The Centre and State are both serious about tapping the full tourism potential of Uttarakhand. In addition to the special focus on developing the Tehri dam reservoir as an international tourist destination, the Centre and State will also work for facilitating better connectivity for the ‘Char Dham’ shrines, Dehradun and Haridwar, said the Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Mahesh Sharma. The Minister was addressing the media in Dehradun where he also met Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday.
Sharma said that the State Government under Chief Minister Harish Rawat was focusing on exploiting the tourism potential of the State. Stating that the Tourism Ministry and Central Government are also serious about working on this, the Tourism Minister said that though about three crore religious tourists visit Uttarakhand every year, the connectivity problems need to be resolved. He said, “The Centre and the State will focus on improving connectivity to Char Dham shrines, Haridwar and Dehradun towns to further boost tourism. In my talks with the State, we have agreed to make efforts towards popularising the Char Dhams, Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and Hemkund Sahib in the global sphere. Special focus will also be laid on developing Tehri as an international tourist destination.
The Tourism ministry has approved Rs30 crore proposed for the ropeway in Tehri along with Rs50 crore for the Kedarnath ropeway. Focus will be laid and necessary measures will be taken to facilitate toilets, improved civic sanitation and better traffic regulation in Haridwar and Dehradun towns,” said the Minister.
On being asked about proposed tourism and construction projects pending clearance from the Forest Department, Sharma said that forests are vital so a middle path should be sought to facilitate development without damaging the environment. Regarding the state of national highways leading to the State capital and issues regarding the railway service, Sharma said that he would raise these issues in the high powered committee formed with representation from various tourism related departments. The Centre would try to provide the remaining funds for incomplete works under discontinued or altered Central schemes like the Product Infrastructure Development at Destinations and Circuits (PIDDC), he added. State Tourism minister Dinesh Dhanai and chief secretary Rakesh Sharma were also among those present at the Press conference.
Earlier, meeting the union minister, the CM Harish Rawat said that a large number of foreign tourists can be attracted if the Centre assists the State in construction of ghats along the Ganga in Haridwar and Rishikesh. Uttarakhand can be developed as a major tourist attraction in south east Asia, said Rawat. Agreeing with the CM, the Union minister said that the spiritual importance of Uttarakhand is known across the world. The Central Government will develop Haridwar and Rishikesh as twin cities for tourism, he said, while assuring that the Centre will provide all necessary support for tourism development in Kedarnath and Tehri.