Emphasising on the necessacity of ensuring the conservation of the Himalaya mountain range and the Ganga river originating from here, a delegation of the Congress party headed by the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president appealed to the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee to direct the Union Government for taking essential measures for protecting the middle Himalaya region and the Ganga river.
The PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay, stating the party’s stance on recent terror incidence in Jammu and Kashmir, strongly condemned it while stressing that on the issue of national security, the Congress party stands fully with the Government of India. Presenting a model of the Badrinath temple and Gangajal as mementoes to the president, Upadhyay said that the Congress members in Uttarakhand believed that Mukherjee’s “blessing” are essential for ensuring that work on conservation of the Himalaya and the Ganga is started soon. He said, “You had shown you commitment to this issue when during the 90s as the vice chairman of the union planning commission, you had sent two senior officials of the commission to Tehri and Uttarkashi and even now it is you who can give directions to the Union Government for starting work. For this, it is necessary for the central government to prepare a consistent and inclusive development policy for the middle Himalaya region. The government should work responsibly on this in order to ensure protection of the Himalaya and the Ganga river,” said the PCC chief.
According to the Congress party office bearers, the president Pranab Mukherjee reportedly heard all the issues in a serious manner and after that, assured that he would talk to the Central Government on this issue, while also stressing that conservation of the Himalaya and the Ganga is essential for national welfare. The party delegation which met the president included PCC vice president Jot Singh Bisht, Anand Suman Singh, Santosh Kashyap, SP Singh and Sundar lal Muyal.