Tourism holds the key to stopping migration: U'khand CM

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today said stopping migration from the hills is a must in view of the strategic importance of the state and tourism can play a vital role in putting an end to the exodus from border villages.
"Considering the strategic importance of Uttarakhand which shares borders with China and Nepal, migration is a big problem which can be combated only when we create education and health facilities besides employment opportunities for locals who have to desert their homes and move to the plains in search of work,"Rawat said while addressing a seminar on 'Tourism, Agriculture and Livelihood' here.

Agriculture will have to be made economically more viable with encouragement to aromatic plantation so that more and more people take to farming, he said.
Noting that Uttarakhand was a state endowed with rare scenic beauty, the Chief Minister said it had great potential in bio-diversity tourism, winter sports tourism, adventure tourism, rural home stay and heritage tourism which can generate great employment opportunities for the local population at their homes and end the compulsion of leaving their villages in search of a livelihood.
He also suggested developing tourism villages showcasing all that is special about Uttarakhand's culture to lure visitors to the state.

Delegates from London Business School also participated in the seminar which was attended by Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, Chief Secretary S Ramaswamy and Principal Secretary Umakant Panwar.