Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the third decade of the 21st century would belong to his state, referring to a statement that had been made by the prime minister.
Dhami was speaking at the inauguration of the first ever Uttarakhand Pravasi Diwas, which is being attended by 250 people with origins in the state.
He said that Uttarakhand was marching ahead in all areas including education, health, infrastructure and connectivity, and added that a chief minister from another state had remarked that the airport in Dehradun was something even bigger states did not have.
“Ours is a state of difficult geography. We are committed to ensuring good connectivity to all different parts,” he said.
In this regard, a flight from Delhi to Pithoragarh was also flagged off today.
Dhami said that the idea of having a Pravasi diwas came to him when he saw the sentiment of Uttarakhandis in the United Kingdom. “They were dressed traditionally and were performing traditional arts- it was difficult to say whether I was in the Indian UK or in a foreign country.”
The event, he hoped, would serve to re-energise the attendees so that they could carry out their important roles elsewhere in the country and in the world.
“When you tell someone that you are from Devbhoomi, their attitude towards you changes,” said Dhami. “The essence of Devbhoomi should remain unchanged.”
He also mentioned some of the achievements of his government highlighting the uniform civil code and the action against 'land jihad'. As part of the latter, some 5,000 acres of land had been freed thus far, he said.
Dhami also said that the original plan was to have a much bigger event. However, it had been scaled down in view of the bus accident in Almora.