PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Uttarakhand Congress started its fortnight long programmes to mark the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the State with a programme at the Martyrs memorial at Dehradun collectorate on Saturday. All the senior leaders of the party attended the programme.
Paying tributes to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the State, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara said that Uttarakhand is the legacy of the martyrs who sacrificed everything for the state’s creation. He said that the women, students and youth played a crucial role in the Uttarakhand statehood movement.
The leader of opposition (LoP) in Vidhan Sabha Yashpal Arya said that the members of the Congress party made the highest number of sacrifices in the creation of the state. He added that after the state’s formation, the first elected government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari laid the foundation for development of the and increased the annual plan from Rs 900 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. Arya said that projects such as Tehri Dam, Maneri Bhali, and Dhauli Ganga hydroelectric projects were completed during the Congress regime which helped in making the state self-reliant in power generation.
Former CM Harish Rawat said that in the last 25 years, Uttarakhand has seen many ups and downs. He said that the State still faces numerous challenges, especially the security of women and employment generation. He said that the Congress government in Uttarakhand worked to revive the tourism industry, which was devastated by the 2013 natural disaster. The biggest challenge facing Uttarakhand today is migration from the state’s mountainous regions, and concrete efforts must be made to stop it.
Former PCC president Pritam Singh said that the BJP only wants to take credit for the state’s formation but the fact is that any government in power at the time would have been forced to accept the demand for Uttarakhand. He pointed out that two other states, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh which were created alongside Uttarakhand got their permanent capitals at the time of creation, while Uttarakhand has yet to select a permanent capital. Many senior leaders of the State unit of the party attended the programme.
