Swachh Bharat, a pet project of Narendra Modi, once took centre stage in in Uttarakhand where the Prime Minister was addressing a public rally.
Modi laid out his developmental plans for the state whose prime focus was on Hindu pilgrimage.
In a grand speech in which the PM invoked god's name, he said that his reform agenda as set out for the state will be realised by 2022.
On his second visit in six months after BJP came to power in the state, the Prime Minister attacked the Congress for not letting him reconstruct areas around Kedarnath's holy shrine after the 2013 flood which killed over thousands. Modi contended that it was perhaps Lord Shiva’s wish that he being “baba’s son” will be the only person to carry out the reconstruction.
Referring to the 2013 floods when he visited the ravaged state, he said: “All hell broke loose in Delhi where people became nervous thinking how Modi reached Kedarnath.”
Reconstruction of Kedarnath area and tourism
Putting a premium on development, Modi emphasised his government's commitment towards reconstructing projects which were impacted by the flood. Among the slew of changes Modi mentioned, his government will be looking at improving facilities for devotees, broadening roads, building retaining walls to hold back water at the Mandakini and Saraswati rivers, as well as renovating Adi Shakaracharya's tomb.
Modi also said that building modern infrastructure will not affect the traditional soul of the shrine.
The Prime Minister claims there will be no dearth of funds for the development projects as it will come from the Centre and the projects will see timely completion. The project will also cover reconstruction of Kedarpuri township which was washed away in the 2013 deluge.
“I want Uttarakhand to be the best tourist destination,” Modi said.
Earlier this month, BJP legislator Bharat Singh Chowdhary told the Hindustan Times that their “party will benefit electorally in Uttarakhand as restoration of Kedarnath will boost religious tourism.”
“Swachh” and eco-friendly Uttarakhand
Amid all the developmental promises hinging on religious tourism, Modi went back to his pet project Swachh Bharat and said the country will be truly developed when it has enough toilets for the population.
This comes after rural Uttarakhand was declared “Open Defecation Free” this year, including Pithoragarh district. However, some media reports (see report in The Wire, Gunji--a village in Pithoragarh district) contest this claim saying lack of water in the cold hill area makes it impossible to have functioning toilets.
In order to make the Hindu pilgrimage site better and eco-friendly, Modi asked Uttarakhand’s people to stop using chemicals.
He also asked all hill states, including Uttarakhand, to develop a green environment. Organic farming wasn't far behind in Modi's agenda.
Earlier this year, the state government reportedly held talks with Baba Ramdev-headed Patanjali for projects regarding organic farming, promotion of tourism, and establishing herbal villages and cowsheds.
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