Friday 15, 2021| PNS | Dehradun
The Uttarakhand government has decided to provide wristbands for mountaineers and trekkers so that they can be traced with the help of satellites and other means at the time of disaster or misshapening. This order was given by the chief secretary SS Sandhu in the review meeting of the tourism department at the state secretariat on Thursday. He said that the wrist bands would help during search operations. The CS said that all necessary arrangements should be made for the safety of mountaineers and trekkers.
He said that the Char Dham Yatra is seasonal but there is a vast scope for off season tourism in Uttarakhand. Sandhu said that work on connectivity should be done to give an impetus to the tourism and construction work of helipads and heliports should be expedited. He said that such areas which have great potential for tourism related activity but are lagging behind due to lack of connectivity should be focussed primarily.
The CS suggested that facilities of drinking water and toilets should be provided at every 20-30 kilometres for the tourists on the Yatra routes. He was of the view that facilities for every age group should be developed in the tourist spots. Sandhu said that youth make more use of technology and they need every information on the phone and for them Apps and websites should be developed.
The CS said that the government with the help of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) can develop resorts in the areas which have potential but in absence of facilities they are not getting proper recognition. He said that such resorts can be sold later once the area is developed and in this manner new tourist destinations get created. On a terse note the CS said that all projects should be completed on time and weekly and fortnightly monitoring of these projects should be done. He directed the officers to focus more on marketing and publicity.
The meeting was attended by Tourism secretary Dilip Jawalkar, additional secretary Yugal Kishore Pant and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) Swati Bhadauriya.
