Prime Minister Modi urged the people of Uttarakhand to preserve their cultural identity by teaching dialects like Garhwali and Kumauni to future generations.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that his government will focus on the nine requests made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the state’s foundation day.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The requests for both locals and tourists will be central to Uttarakhand’s development plans, with the state government committed to ensuring that these priorities drive future progress, said Dhami.
He said that Prime Minister Modi has shown his affection for Uttarakhand by expressing concern about the state’s dialect, language preservation, and migration.
The state government will prioritise the prime minister’s ‘nine requests’ as the guiding principle for Uttarakhand’s development, as stated in a government release.
Here is the list of requests made by PM Modi
In his video message on Saturday, marking Uttarakhand’s Silver Jubilee year, Prime Minister Modi made five appeals to the state’s residents and four to the tourists and pilgrims visiting the region.
Prime Minister Modi urged the people of Uttarakhand to preserve their cultural identity by teaching dialects like Garhwali, Kumauni and Jaunsari to future generations.
He also encouraged people to plant ‘one tree in the name of mother’ to protect the environment and fight climate change, promote water cleanliness by conserving sources, regularly visit villages and convert old homes into ‘home stays’ for extra income.
Prime Minister Modi also appealed to tourists visiting Uttarakhand to avoid single-use plastic in the Himalayas, spend at least 5 percent of their travel budget on local products under ‘vocal for local,’ follow traffic rules and respect the decorum of pilgrimage sites.
He said that these initiatives aim to strengthen both the local community and environmental sustainability.
Prime Minister Modi also appealed to tourists visiting Uttarakhand to avoid single-use plastic in the Himalayas, spend at least 5 percent of their travel expenses on local products under the ‘Vocal for local’ initiative, follow traffic rules, and respect the decorum of pilgrimage sites.
The chief minister added that the state government would base its policies on Prime Minister Modi’s requests and will focus on implementing all of them with the support of the public.
Uttarakhand has become a major tourist hotspot, with visitor numbers rising significantly. In 2023, the state recorded 5.96 crore visitors, a 61.79 percent increase from 2018.
Nearly 3 crore tourists visited by August this year, with numbers expected to surpass 6 crore by December.