Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra Road, ‘Goa-Crucible of Culture’, Startup India
1. Road link from Dharchula (Uttarakhand) to Lipulekh (China Border)
- In the new era in undertaking Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra and border area connectivity, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh at a special event inaugurated the road link from Dharchula (Uttarakhand) to Lipulekh (China Border). Shri Rajnath Singh also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji through video conferencing.
- the completion of this crucial road link, the decades old dreams and aspirations of local people and pilgrims have been fulfilled. He expressed confidence that local trade and economic growth in the region would receive a boost with the operationalisation of this roadway.
- Recalling that pilgrimage to Kailash-Manasarovar has been sacred and revered by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, Shri Rajnath Singh said with the completion of this road link, the yatra could be completed in one week compared to 2-3 weeks it took earlier. The road originates from Ghatiabagarh and terminates at Lipulekh Pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar. In this 80 kilometre road, the altitude rises from 6,000 to 17,060 feet. With the completion of this project, the arduous trek through treacherous high-altitude terrain can now be avoided by the pilgrims of Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra. At present, the travel to Kailash-Mansarovar takes around two to three weeks through Sikkim or Nepal routes. Lipulekh route had a trek of 90 Km through high altitude terrain and the elderly yartris faced lot of difficulties.
- The other two road ways via Sikkim and Nepal are along. They entailed approximately 20 per cent land journeys on Indian roads and 80 per cent land journeys in China. With the opening of Ghatiabgarh-Lipulekh road, this ratio has been reversed. Now Pilgrims to Manasarovar will traverse 84 per cent land journeys on Indian Roads and only 16 per cent land Journeys in China. This is truly historic.
- In addition, there were numerous flash floods and cloud bursts over last few years which led to extensive damages. In the initial 20 kilometres, the mountains have hard rock and are near vertical due to which BRO has lost many lives and 25 equipment were also badly damaged due to falling into Kali River. Despite all odds, in last two years, BRO could increase its output by 20 times by creating multiple working points and inducting modern technology equipment. Helicopters were also extensively used to induct hundreds of tons of stores/equipment into this sector.
- the border villages are finally connected by roads for the first time and Kailash Mansarovar Yatris can now avoid the difficult 90Km trek and move upto China border in vehicles.
- The Darchula – Lipulekh road is an extension of Pithoragarh-Tawaghat-Ghatiabagarh road. It originates from Ghatiabagarh and terminates at Lipulekh Pass, the gateway to Kailash Mansarovar. In this 80 Km road, the altitude rises from 6000 feet to 17,060 feet. With the completion of this project, the arduous trek through treacherous high-altitude terrain can now be avoided by the Pilgrims of Kailash MansarovarYatra and the period of journey will be reduced by many days.
- At present, the travel to Kailash Mansarovar takes around two to three weeks through Sikkim or Nepal routes. Lipulekh route had a trek of 90 Km through high altitude terrain and the elderly yartris faced lot of difficulties. Now, this yatra will get completed by vehicles.
2. "Startup India-Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge"
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, in partnership with Startup India, had launched the ‘Animal Husbandry Startup Grand Challenge’, to scout for innovative and commercially viable solutions to address the problems faced by the Animal Husbandry and Dairy sector. The challenge was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 11th September last year at a national animal disease control programme in Mathura.
The challenge was open for application to all startups with unique solutions for six problem statements that were identified as below:
• Value added products: introduce value added dairy products viz. cheese, smoothies, flavoured milk, custard, yoghurt, and other ethnic Indian products using innovative techniques for smaller domestic as well as export markets
• Single use plastic alternatives: using environment-friendly alternatives to replace single-use polythene in dairy sector
• Eliminate milk adulteration: tackling milk adulteration in the dairy sector
• Breed improvement and animal nutrition: use of innovative technologies for quick genetic gain among Indian breeds of cattle and buffalos, and new varieties of green fodder and enriched animal feed
• E-commerce solutions: encouraging innovations to provide modern digital infrastructure and advisory services across the country
• Product traceability: using technologies to track the journey of dairy products from farm to fork
The challenge was open for application to Startups since 11th of September, 2019 to 15th of November, 2019 on the Startup India portal – www.startupindia.gov.in.
3. ‘Goa-Crucible of Culture' under "Dekho Apna Desh" series
- Ministry of Tourism, Government of India’s DekhoApna Desh Webinar Series titled , “Goa- Crucible of Culture” on 7th May 2020 presented the ‘lesser known’ or ‘unknown’ travel experiences that India’s most popular tourist destination ‘Goa’ offers, thus bringing the participants face to face with the unknown beauty of a place which is waiting to be discovered in Goa.
- The International Film Festival of India, Goa Arts,Literature Festival, Serendipity Arts Festival, local festivals, Music, food, architecture, and painting featured in the presentation.
- Travel today is more than sightseeing; It’s all about new experiences and getting to know about the people and culture of every place one visits. Staying in a local home stay, learning a local art, cooking a meal, volunteer with a community are some activities that will remain in memories.
- Summing up the webinar Rupinder Brar , Additional Director General stressed the importance of sustainable travel , more so the ‘Socio-cultural sustainability’ which aims at minimising the negative impact on the community and promoting positivity towards tourism and tourist.
