U’khand Tourism, ITBP ink MoU to promote tourism in border villages

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board signed an MoU with ITBP-Northern Frontier Headquarters on Wednesday, aiming for holistic development of the border villages through tourism activities.

Uttarakhand Tourism is expanding heli-services in remote districts of the state with an aim to promote tourism in the border villages. With this, the state government also aims to generate employment opportunities in these villages and set a trend for Reverse Migration, a government spokesperson said.

Under the MoU, signed in the presence of Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, IG of ITBP-Northern Frontier Sanjay Kumar Gunjyal and Tourism Secretary Sachin Kurve, the ITBP has agreed to extend the services of its existing helipads for the purpose of promoting tourism to facilitate tourist activity in remote areas like Adi Kailash, Om Parvat, Timmersain Mahadev and Hemkund Sahib.

Additionally, the helipads would also be used to provide emergency medical rescue services to the residents of these villages. The Chief Secretary congratulated the Tourism Department for the initiative and thanked the ITBP for extending their “whole-hearted support in the noble cause of nation-building” through the ‘Vibrant Village Programme’

Tourism Secretary Kurve said that aerial routes for tourism would be jointly identified with ITBP to promote ‘heli tourism circuits’, which will help promote tourism in these lesser-known hamlets of the state and provide employment to the local youth.