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Adityanath hands over Alaknanda tourist bungalow to Uttarakhand
UPSTDC’s Alaknanda tourist bungalow in Hardwar was declared a property of Uttarakhand following the division of Uttar Pradesh on November 9, 2000
LUCKNOW/HARIDWAR UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday inaugurated the Bhagirathi Tourist Guest House of the UP State Tourism Development Corporation (UPSTDC) in Haridwar and handed over the Alaknanda tourist bungalow in the pilgrimage town to Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, in a major step towards resolving the long-pending issue of distribution of assets between the two neighbouring states.
UPSTDC’s Alaknanda tourist bungalow in Hardwar was declared a property of Uttarakhand following the division of Uttar Pradesh on November 9, 2000.
As UP refused to hand over Alaknanda to Uttarakhand, the issue went to the Supreme Court. An agreement was later reached with Uttarakhand government giving land for the construction of UP’s 100-room Bhagirathi tourist bungalow worth ₹43.27 crore that Yogi inaugurated on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, Adityanath said it was an example of how long-pending issues between states can be resolved through dialogue, if the political will is there. He said under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP and Uttarakhand have been able to resolve the 21-year old dispute mutually.
“When I became UP CM in 2017, within a week the Supreme Court had expressed resentment over delay in resolving property disputes between the two states regarding handing over of Alaknanda hotel to Uttarakhand. I took it as a priority so that such inter-state disputes don’t get dragged on for years in courts. I assure people of Uttarakhand that both sides will be satisfied as all disputes pertaining the two states will be resolved in a similar manner as has been done in the Alaknanda hotel case,” said Adityanath.
Yogi Adityanath said the tourism sector was now the second-largest job creating sector after agriculture and there were tremendous opportunities in the service sector.
“Ganga is born only when Bhagirathi and Alaknanda come together. UP and Uttarakhand may be two states, but the feelings and sentiments of people in both the states are the same. Not leaving it to bureaucracy, we have resolved most of the issues politically through dialogue,” Adityanath said.
The UP CM said the issues had been resolved with inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision regarding Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat (One India, Great India).
He said Uttarakhand was ‘Devbhumi’ and pilgrims from all over the world wanted to bathe at Hari ki Pauri to get blessings. “Kedarnath Dham has been changed in accordance with wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while renovation of Badrinath Dham is in progress,” said Yogi.
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said both the states had much in common, which will further boost ties. “The 21-year-old dispute between two states on the hotel has been resolved in a 20-minute meeting. I express my gratitude to Yogi Adityanath for this,” he said.
UP minister for tourism Jaivir Singh listed measures that were being undertaken for promotion of tourism in the state. Uttarakhand tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said both the states will work together to encourage tourism in the northern region.
Later, Adityanath launched a book of former Union education minister and Haridwar MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, named “Main Ganga Bol Rahi Hun”, and an e-book on Sparsh Ganga.
