Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday participated in the Uttarakhand @25 “Celebration of Adventure, Spirituality and Unique Culture” program organized by the Tourism Department at Himalayan Cultural Centre, Garhi Cantt, Dehradun. On this occasion, the Chief Minister unveiled the logo of the Ultra Marathon Race to be organized in Niti and released the Throne of the Gods coffee table book prepared by the Tourism Department.
Dhami honored the winners of the photo exhibition competition by giving them prizes. He also distributed awards to excellent home stay operators of 13 districts. He honored Astro Tour Guides and Tour Managers from across the state. The Chief Minister also honored the mountaineers selected by the Tourism Department and the 13-member team of ITBP for successfully climbing Kala Nag Peak.
Thanking all the departments, officers and employees, the Chief Minister said that due to the hard work of all the people, all the programs of the Silver Jubilee festival were successfully completed across the state. He said that after the formation of the state 25 years ago, this nascent state has progressed rapidly. This progress is the result of the penance of the agitators.
CM Dhami said that the state government is working for the all-round development of the state under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Infrastructure is being strengthened in all major sectors including tourism, education, health, drinking water and connectivity in the state. He said that where it was once difficult to build roads, today all-weather roads are being constructed at those places. Where communication was once a dream, Digital Uttarakhand is now taking shape.
The Chief Minister said that startups and self-employment works are being started in village homes. People are being promoted through many schemes of the Tourism Department in the state. Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Tourism Self-Employment Scheme and Deendayal Upadhyay Home Stay Scheme have helped thousands of youth to become self-reliant. More than 8,000 young men and women have been trained through tourism and hospitality skill development programs.
The Chief Minister said that youth are getting employment opportunities through training in fields like tour guide, naturalist, tour manager, street food vendor. After the formulation of the new tourism policy, projects worth more than ₹ 5,500 crore of more than 207 investors are in progress in the state.
To promote winter tourism, winter Chardham Yatra and activities have also been started in high Himalayan areas, Jadung, Darma Valley, Panchachuli Base Camp.
The Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand is also becoming a center of adventure tourism along with pilgrimage. From Chamoli to Tehri Lake, from Mussoorie to Munsiyari, a new world of adventure is emerging in every valley. New opportunities have been opened in the field of adventure sports for the youth by promoting exciting sports like paragliding, trekking, river rafting, mountain biking.
The Chief Minister said that Astro Tourism, Wed-in-Uttarakhand and Spiritual Destination Development are giving new direction to the tourism of the state. He said on Sunday that the Prime Minister said the strength of Uttarakhand is its spiritual strength. Religious places like Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Haridwar, Rishikesh etc. are also the centers of faith and energy of India along with Uttarakhand.
The Chief Minister said that the local economy of the state is being strengthened through initiatives like One District, Two Products Scheme, House of Himalayas Brand, State Millet Mission, Farm Machinery Bank, Apple Mission, New Tourism Policy, New Film Policy, Home Stay, Wed in Uttarakhand and Solar Self-Employment Scheme. In the last four and a half years, the state has achieved many remarkable achievements, the echo of which is being heard across the country today.
The Chief Minister said that the continuous progress in the state in the field of tourism has been appreciated at the national and international level. Villages like Jakhol, Harshil, Supi and Gunji were selected as the best tourism villages in the year 2023 and 2024. Uttarakhand received special recognition in the Skill Development in Responsible Tourism category by the International Center for Responsible Tourism in the year 2024-25.
The Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that to make India a developed nation by 2047, Uttarakhand will have to decide the roadmap for the next 25 years. The Chief Minister said that if every Uttarakhandi contributes with full devotion, dedication and honesty in his/her respective field, then Uttarakhand will definitely become a developed, self-reliant and prosperous state.
Those who got the first place in the best homestay at the district level are Harendra Singh Bisht from Almora district, Mohan Chandra Kandpal from Bageshwar, Sarita Devi from Chamoli, Neelam Chauhan from Dehradun, Sunita Singh from Haridwar, Neeraj Joshi from Champawat, Kailash Pushpwan from Rudraprayag, Tribhuvan Uniyal from Pauri, Mathura Dutt Colony from Pithoragarh, Nainital. Umang Vasudev, Jitendra Singh from Tehri, Akhil Pant from Uttarkashi, Deepak Chaturvedi from Udham Singh Nagar.
On this occasion, MLA Khajan Das Savita Kapoor, BKTC President Hemant Dwivedi, Secretary Dhiraj Singh Garbyal, Additional Secretary Abhishek Ruhela and others were present.