The abundance of sources of water and rivers in Uttarakhand provides considerable scope for rafting with the State Government being committed to encouraging rafting and similar adventurous activities. The facilitation of water sports can be developed considerably in the State. All the rivers in Uttarakhand should be thrown open for rafting after the month of August. Similarly, a trekking-year should also be held apart from measures like developing Kedarnath trekking to encourage trekking activities in the State, said Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
CM said this while presiding over a meeting with the representatives of the Uttarakhand rafting and camping operators association in the State capital on Friday.
The Chief Minister said that rafting should be encouraged in both the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the State. In addition to the Tehri festival, two more such fairs should also be facilitated to further encourage such adventure activities.
Apart from rafting, new locations should also be looked into for the purpose of trekking in the State. Rawat also stressed on the need for a comprehensive study on the potential for rafting in Uttarakhand in order to effectively address the vital aspects of environmental conservation, generation of employment opportunities, susceptibility of the ecological system and local requirements among other issues.
As is being done in the case of rafting, a calendar for trekking activities should also be prepared in Uttarakhand, he added. CM said that in addition to developing avenues for rafting and other adventure activities to boost tourism in the state, the areas where such activities are organised should also be publicised far and wide.
The utilisation of the social media would also be appropriate for marketing such activities. Along with facilitation of a trekking fest, efforts will also have to be made for developing adventure activities like rafting and trekking by means of setting up of a single-window system for facilitating access to all the relevant information and official facilities provided by the State.
Such adventure sports should also be developed as start-ups, said Rawat, while also issuing instructions to the officials concerned for encouraging such tourism activities under the Veer Chandra Singh Gadhwali self employment scheme.
The CM further said that a trekking year be declared to provide full encouragement to trekking activities in Uttarakhand. In the initial stage, arrangements should be made to organise trekking for 500 school children.
The Kedarnath trek should also be developed, stressed Rawat, while also laying emphasis on the need for focus on relevant training.
The State Forest and Wildlife minister Dinesh Aggarwal, Home Minister Pritam Singh, Urban Development minister Pritam Singh Panwar, tourism minister Dinesh Dhanai, Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh, additional chief secretary S Ramaswamy, secretary Shailesh Bagauli and representatives of the state rafting and camping operators association were among those present in the meeting.