Zila panchayat passes resolution supporting Gairsain as permanent capital

The zila panchayat of Rudraprayag district today unanimously passed a resolution making a strong pitch for Gairsain as the permanent capital of Uttarakhand on the plea that without a permanent capital of its own, the dream of people who fought for statehood remained unfulfilled.

In doing so, Rudraprayag zila panchayat became the first to pass a resolution in favour of Gairsain as the permanent capital.

Gairsain, a remote hill town in Chamoli district, was envisioned as the state capital during the statehood agitation and demands were later raised to make it the permanent capital of Uttarakhand.

A resolution to this effect was unanimously passed by the Rudraparayag zila panchayat at a meeting of its board, zila panchayat president Laxmi Rana said.
 

"All members of the zila panchayat are in favour of Gairsain being made the permanent capital of the state. We extend our total support to the Sthayi Rajdhani Gairsain Sangharsh Samiti which is spearheading the cause. We appeal the state government to soon declare Gairsain as the permanent capital of the state," Rana said.

Zila panchayat vice president Lakhpat Singh Bhandari said development can be brought about in the hills only when Gairsain is made the permanent capital of Uttarakhand.

"Many laid down their lives and many fought all their life for a separate state. It is unfortunate that Uttarakhand is still without a permanent capital even 17 years after its creation," Bhandari said.

Dehradun enjoys the status of being only the temporary capital of Uttarakhand.

Garsain, though infrastructurally underdeveloped, has been an emotive issue in Uttarakhand as many believe that the capital of a predominantly hill state should be located in the hills and not in the plains.

When the state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000, Dehradun was chosen as its temporary capital because of its infrastructure and proximity to the national capital.

Remaining non-committal about the demand to accord permanent capital status to Gairsain, most of the political parties have rekindled the issue at the time of successive elections in the state.