Focus on reverse migration in China border areas: Rawat
DEHRADUN: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Tuesday that there is a need to focus on reverse migration in the border areas along China in the interest of national security.
Gen Rawat made the statement while meeting senior state police officers, including director general of police Ashok Kumar, in Dehradun and held a discussion on “Role of Uttarakhand in tackling national security challenge.”
Addressing the police officers. he said, “Migration from the border areas of the state is not a good thing for national security. There has to be an emphasis on reverse migration to those areas by promoting development works in the field of infrastructure, education and health.”
Commending the state police for maintaining law and order in the state, he said, “It is because of good law and order situation that the state offers a suitable environmental for tourism and industries.”
Gen Rawat said, “To promote tourism in the border areas we are planning to push the inner line. This will also help in the development of those areas.”
He asked the state police to increase the police check posts in the border areas.
“Those check points can come along with army and the ITBP posts along the India-China border,” he said.
Data released by the Uttarakhand migration commission in July last year mentioned that over 215,000 people had returned to their homes in Uttarakhand during the Covid-19 epidemic.
In May last year, as a strategy to retain the migrants who returned to the state during the lockdown, then chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had inaugurated Mukhyamantri Swarojgar Yojana (MSY), aimed at providing self-employment opportunities to youth and ensuring reverse migration. It was launched with a focus on the thousands of migrants who returned to their homes in the state during lockdown so as to provide them with a livelihood by providing them subsidised loans for starting their own venture under MSME sector. There are about 150 works that have been included under the programme by the government which includes starting a restaurant to animal farming.