Candid Notes

Friday, 07 March 2025 | Gajendra Singh Negi

Winter Yatra

The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to picturesque Harshil and Mukhwa, the winter abode of goddess Ganga in the Uttarkashi district on Thursday will surely give a fillip to the religious, spiritual and adventure tourism during the winter months in the Himalayan State. The past experience of the State shows that the visitor footfall increased to the places such as Kedarnath, Mana and Adi Kailash after the PM, who enjoys very good appeal in the masses visited them.

 Uttarakhand has so far succeeded in branding winter tourism by inviting the PM and launching a campaign in media and social media platforms. The real challenge, however, lies in managing the travel of tourists and pilgrims during the harsh winter seasons. Infrastructure such as parking places, public toilets and other facilities including the hotels and eateries are needed to be constructed in Mukhba, Kharsali , Joshimath and Ukhimath, the winter abodes of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath respectively. Similarly the condition of roads needs to be improved in the above mentioned places and other areas to ensure a safe journey to the visitors during winters. 

BJP’s bustle

 Beneath the apparent tranquillity on the surface, intense political activity, one-upmanship and even brinkmanship is going on in the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttarakhand. Organisational elections are underway in the party and many senior leaders are said to be contending for the top positions including that of the president of the State unit after the end of the tenure of incumbent Mahendra Bhatt. Speculations are in rife that the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will soon undertake a reshuffle of his cabinet which is causing sleepless nights to a couple of powerful ministers. Four positions in the Dhami cabinet have been vacant for quite some time now and it is believed that a cabinet expansion is also on cards. Many MLAs of the saffron party including seasoned ones and first timers are vying with one another for a berth in the cabinet. Additionally, the exercise to appoint position holders in the State government is also said to be underway for which a large number of party leaders have staked their claims. 

 High spirits

 The increase in per capita income in Uttarakhand is getting reflected in the revenue earned by the Excise department which is increasing appreciably year after year  and is expected to be in excess of Rs 5,000 crore in the year 2025-26. The local liquor aficionados and tourists visiting the State are filling the coffers of the Himalayan State thus contributing to its economy. The data released by the officials of the cash rich Excise department shows that the per capita consumption of the alcohol in the State is Rs 4,217 per year which is more than neighbouring Delhi ( Rs 1,842), Uttar Pradesh( Rs 2,269), Himachal Pradesh ( Rs 2,988) and Haryana (Rs 3,765). Interestingly this data of the Excise department does not include the volume of the liquor sold in the army run canteens which, thanks to the high percentage of ex-servicemen and serving armed forces personnel, is also quite high.