PM hails Dhami, ‘navratna’ to boost U’khand’s growth

Prime Minister Marinara Modi on Thursday highlighted his government’s emphasis on the “navratna” — nine gems of development for Uttarakhand — that is intended to give a push to Uttarakhand’s infrastructure development. He also praised the Pushkar Singh Dhami government for providing synergy to the development, claiming “navratnas” as the key reason of infrastructure improvement in the Himalayan state.

Mr Modi said that Mr Dhami has made a significant push to thread these navratnas into a giant string to enable the state attain new avenues of growth.

First Ratna, Mr Modi said, is the `1,300-crore Kedarnath-Badrinath redevelopment work; second, the `2,500 crore ropeway project at Gaurikund-Kedarnath and Gobind GhatHemkunt Sahib; third, the renovation of the ancient temples of Kumaon under Manas Khand Mandir Mala programme. The fourth navaratna is the promotion of homestays in the state which has over 4,000 registered homestays; the fifth is the development of 16 ecotourism destinations; the sixth is the expansion of health services in Uttarakhand, while the seventh one is the `2,000-crore Tehri Lake development project. The eighth navaratna is the development of pilgrim centres Haridwar and Rishikesh as the capital of yoga and adventure tourism and finally, the ninth one is the development of Tanakpur — Bageshwar rail line.

“These navratnas are being consolidated to push infrastructure development in the state under the Dhami government. Work is going on at a rapid pace on `12,000-crore Char Dham maha pariyojana. The Parvat Mala Project will change the state’s fortune in the coming days,” said Modi.

“Uttarakhand is emerging as a tourism, adventure tourism, filming, and wedding destination,” he added.

“The state’s tourist attractions draw people from all around the world. Devbhoomi will be the international spiritual consciousness centre. We must work hard to realise this potential,” Mr Modi said.