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Uttarakhand to Develop New Tourist Destinations in All Districts

Uttarakhand government will now develop at least one new tourist destination in each district of Uttarakhand to prevent the migration of local people from the hilly regions of the state.

Uttarakhand currently has 13 districts. CM Trivendra Singh Rawat wants more tourism based jobs for youths living in the hilly districts to enable them play a significant role in supporting environmental and tourist activities in the state.

The government has also decided to promote homestay concept in the state, and therefore KMVN and GMVN packages will now include homestay booking for tourists willing to visit the state.

Recently, CM took a review meeting with tourism department officials, in which officials told the chief minister about the progress on construction of a ropeway to Kedarnath. Ropeways will also be constructed on the Dehradun-Mussoorie and Yamunotri-Kharsali route.

Tourism department is also carrying out survey and mapping for development of nine villages near Kedarnath.

Recently, Uttarakhand government had also decided to relocate some villages located in disaster prone areas. According to the state government, a total of 352 villages lying in high seismic zones or facing flood threats have already been identified. These villages will be relocated after approval of budget in upcoming assembly session scheduled to be held in June. A large of village among the 352 villages are located in the Kedar Valley. In June 2013, the state of Uttarakhand witnessed some of the most disastrous events in its history in the form of a multi-day cloudburst, devastating floods and landslides. This was also India’s worst natural disaster since 2004 tsunami. The state experienced larger than normal rainfall, resulting in blocking up and overflow of rivers due to debris. In Kedarnath, thousands of people died on June 15. Destruction of roads and bridges left more than 110,000 tourists trapped in the valleys. These people were later evacuated by the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army, and paramilitary troops.

Regarding international yoga day celebrations on June 21, CM asked officials to ensure that activities on that day should reach to maximum possible areas in hilly districts and not limited to Dehradun only. He advised officials to organize yoga events at unexplored locations to give them recognition at national and international level.

A yoga week will commence on June 15 and include a variety of activities to encourage people to do yoga activities.