A day after Trivendra Singh Rawat made the landmark announcement about Gairsain being made Uttarakhand's summer capital, locals gathered in hordes near the assembly premises here on Thursday to accord a grand reception to the chief minister and other leaders.
Residents of Gairsain and adjoining Bharadisain applied gulal on the chief minister's forehead and garlanded him to express their thankfulness.
People also applied gulal on foreheads of Speaker Prem Chandra Aggrawal, Pradesh BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat and Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik to greet them on the occasion.
The chief minister said he has been flooded with congratulatory messages of Uttarakhandis from all over the country and abroad after making the announcement on Gairsain.
"The development of hill areas and creation of basic facilities in remote parts were the main objectives behind the struggle for statehood to Uttarakhand," Rawat said.
"The government is committed to work in accordance with aspirations of those who fought for the statehood," he said.
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The fact that the people in Gairsain and Bharadisain are celebrating Holi in advance shows their sense of elation at the announcement, Rawat said.
The BJP, meanwhile, held celebrations at its offices throughout the state to hail the announcement with party workers bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets to each other.
The main programme was held at the state BJP headquarters at Balbir Road here in the presence of senior party leaders including pradesh party vice president Devendra Bhasin.
The chief minister will be accorded a grand reception by party workers when he returns from Gairsain, Bhasin said.
"The chief minister's announcement about Gairsain being made the state's summer capital is historic. We congratulate him and the people of the state for this," Pradesh BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat said in a statement.
"The announcement also fulfils a promise made by the party in its vision document for the 2017 assembly polls," he said.
Making Gairsain Uttarakhand's summer capital will speed up the development of the state's hilly areas, Bhagat said.
It is a significant step towards the all-round development of the state, he said.
Twenty years after Uttarakhand was granted statehood, Chief Minister Rawat on Wednesday announced making Gairsain the capital of Uttarakhand in the state assembly in an attempt to put a lid on a political and emotive issue which had been simmering for long.
The announcement partially fulfils a long-standing demand of the hill people who wanted Gairsain to be made the permanent capital of Uttarakhand.
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