Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj talks about his efforts in upgrading the state’s infrastructure and tourism
The tourism minister of Uttarakhand, Satpal Maharaj, talks about his plans for enhancing Uttarakhand tourism in the coming years. He is exploring possibilities for broadening the trek route and upgrading the infrastructure to facilitate the process of tourism.
Uttarakhand is becoming a destination for winters. Maharaj says, “We will make an Alpine village during winters. At that time many tourists come who are interested in investing.” This will help the state in meeting its demands. He has suggested the ministers to hold the next meeting in Kashmir so that they can work together and exchange their inputs which will help each other grow. He has been to Kashmir but was always in between the Armed Forces as the chairman of Defence Committee.
Uttarakhand is hit by landslides and floods too often. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to work on disaster management. Maharaj is making efforts to make the tourism of the state world class. But there are various things that hold him back. He says, “We need to have skilled people and expertise. How many people understand the potential of Uttarakhand?” They need to be aware of its future prospectives and there is a dire need to develop the equipment for the training of various water sports too.
To add to the process he has written letters to his MLAs and asked them about “haunted or old houses and hot water springs nearby” so that he can develop and utilise them for some useful purpose. He shares about his idea of air balloons in Kumbh but the authorities denied. “They felt that it will collide but it will not. They don’t have an understanding of the employment that it will generate,” he adds. Talking about the void in the system he shares that he interacted with the film council and requested them to come for shoots in the state. But when they came, they were questioned by forest authorities. “We need to erode this loophole at various levels. When people from other states come, we should try to give them a personal touch. It will add charm to the beauty of the state. Local tourism is a good way to open local avenues for employment but infrastructure and water issues still needs to be worked upon,” says he.
The state is looking for alternate Char Dham routes so that it becomes accessible to everyone and will increase tourists also. He has contacted the ropeway firms to provide their facilities at more places and also made a point that Ramnagar and Vikasnagar can become the routes for the yatra. The arrangements are being tightened up and work on infrastructure is being carried out heavily so that pilgrims do not face any difficulties.
Uttarakhand is gradually becoming a high end tourist state. It is planning to introduce mobile caravans which will offer various facilities and give a new sense of tourism coupled with luxury homestays. And as trekking routes are becoming more advanced, it will help in attracting domestic and international tourists as well. The efforts are clearly evident through Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board’s (UTDB) campaign, #DoTheNew, which suggests to do something that would connect with the nature. This has helped the state to grab eyeballs from all across. The state is also geared up to hold the car rally and white water rafting in the forthcoming months.
