n The chief minister (CM) Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated, ‘ Janki Setu’, the 346 meter long foot suspension bridge over Ganga River in Muni ki Reti area on Friday. The bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs 48.85 Crores. Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that soon a new bridge ‘Bajrang Setu’ would be constructed in Rishikesh. This bridge would be made from glass and would be unique work of art. He said that bridges on Singtali and Bean River in Ekeshwar in Pauri would be constructed soon. He claimed that more than 250 bridges were constructed in last three and half years in the state. Rawat said that the state government has started functioning in different manner and instead of providing only three to four Crores for a project, a major sum, maximum that can be spent in a year is being provided for the projects which is helping in their timely completion. He said that Dobra- Chanti Bridge could be constructed due to the one time approval of a budget of Rs 88 Crore. The CM said that the state government is focussing on providing self employment opportunities to the youth and soon an interest free loan of Rs 3 lakh would be provided to the unemployed.   He said that the adventure tourism is the new dimension of tourism industry and has a bright future. Rawat added that Tehri and Bilkhet in Pauri have vast potential in adventure tourism.

The speaker of Uttarakhand assembly Premchand Agarwal said that people were waiting for Janki Setu for a long time. He also congratulated people on the occasion of Chatt puja. The agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal said that the inauguration of the bridge has ended the wait of 14 years. The Yamkeshwar MLA, Ritu Khaduri equated inauguration of Janki Setu with the fulfilment of the faith, aspirations and dreams. The Mayor of Rishikesh Anita Mamgain, Vice President of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam K K Singhal, chairman of Muni ki Reti municipal council Roshan Raturi and others were present on the occasion.