With the Government of India permitting the reopening of religious sites from June 8, the State Government is considering the possibility of starting the Char Dham Yatra in a limited, controlled and safe manner. Since the situation is dynamic, a decision in this regard will be taken considering the situations at the time, said Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
Interacting with the media on Skype, the Chief Minister said the State Government has taken various important decisions to provide relief to those connected with tourism. Many economic activities have been resumed to boost the state’s economy. The Government has started receiving revenue through registry, stamp and other sources. Work is underway on various schemes in addition to the Mukhyamantri Rozgar Yojana which has been launched for the youth and those who have returned to the state. Regarding the natives who have returned to Uttarakhand during the pandemic, Rawat said that the government is compiling relevant details about them to ascertain aspects like whether they will remain in the state for good or move out to other states after the pandemic. About two lakh people have returned to Uttarakhand and their screening, testing and quarantine are being facilitated as per the Central Government guidelines. The CM said, “Covid-19 cases are rising in the state but we are fully prepared. We have about 14,000 beds in institutional facilities. Along with ICUs and ventilators, the number of doctors and paramedical staff has also been increased. At the same time, special focus is being laid on strengthening the rural economy,” he said.
Earlier, the CM said that historic and long awaited decisions had been taken by the Modi 2 government.
“The government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strengthened national security and taken the historic decision of abrogating articles 370 and 35 A. Muslim women were provided considerable relief with quashing of triple talaq. The Citizenship Amendment Act was also passed though some people tried their best to create falsehoods around it. The way for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya was also paved in a manner agreeable to members of both the communities involved.
Rebate was provided in corporate tax and income tax while the scope of social security was expanded to start pension scheme for small shopkeepers. Earlier the government had worked on ensuring cooking gas supply in every home and now it is working on facilitating clean drinking water connection in every home in a time-bound manner. The one nation, one ration card scheme has also been introduced and is likely to be implemented in Uttarakhand by August this year.”
Regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, Rawat said that the timely decisions taken by the Modi government had mitigated the extent of damage which the virus could have wreaked. The situation in the nation is still much better compared to the global scenario, he added.
