Tourism hit, but Uttarakhand begins revival with green zones: CM

The hill state of Uttarakhand has incurred huge losses due to the shutdown of tourism activities in the state due to the coronavirus and subsequent nationwide lockdown.

According to reports, a loss of nearly ₹1,500 crores is being estimated, the brunt of which will be felt by small traders in the state.

Speaking on the issues faced by Uttarakhand and the government’s response, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said soon work will be started to bring back the tourism industry on its feet.

“We had planned for a wellness summit here to be conducted in April along with the adventure summit to promote 365 days tourism, but due to the epidemic, they couldn’t be carried out. However, we will recover soon,” the CM told Aaj Tak.

He also said the state has adopted strict vigilance to contain the spread of coronavirus.

“As soon as the first case appeared on March 15, we closed schools and implemented work from home,” he added.

Soon after, the state started screening people and put an alert on the border it shares with Nepal.

Talking about the state’s preparedness to accommodate migrant workers, he said that the state government had requested the Centre for 12 trains that would bring back the stranded migrant workers from places like Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Mumbai, and Delhi.

The Railways Ministry had assured him that the request would be considered.

Related news: Uttarakhand to rope in migrant youth in local economic activities

“So far we have received 87,000 applications from people who want to return to Uttarakhand, and work is on to bring them back,” the CM said.

He also reiterated that Uttarakhand takes violations of rules seriously and said so far 16 people have been booked for failing to follow social distancing, lockdown, and informing the authorities about sick people.

Referring to Tablighi Jamaat members, he said that all 1,435 jamatis in the state were caught and quarantined.

On April 5, the state had announced strict action against jamatis if they fail to surrender.

Earlier, the CM had said that from May 4, the green zones in the state will be fully functional. Significantly, 10 out of 13 districts of the state are in the green zone.

Kedarnath temple and clean Ganga

Talking about opening up of the Kedarnath temple, a holy shrine for Hindus, the CM said due to the lockdown, devotees should do online darshan.

The temple authorities too have been asked to facilitate the system of online darshan.

Related news: 18 lakh pilgrims take holy dip at Ganga Sagar on Makar Sankranti

In response to the government’s strategies to keep Ganga clean, he said people have joined the resolve of PM Narendra Modi and the holy river will be definitely kept this way.

The Chief Minister also added that all the drains falling in the Ganga have been
closed long time back.