CM participates in Amar Ujala Samvad in Doon
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 19 Jun: Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, inaugurated a day long Amar Ujala Uttarakhand Samvad Programme at a local hotel here this morning. Managing Director of Amar Ujala, Tanmay Maheshwari, gave the welcome address and also gave a brief introduction of Amar Ujala’s journey and claimed that in last 25 years, Amar Ujala had stood with the people of Uttarakhand in their moments of joy and sorrow.
Leading News Anchor Nidhi Kulpati from NDTV interviewed Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami during the inaugural session in respect of the achievements of the government led by him, and on other issues including some contentious issues related to Uttarakhand. In response to one question asked by Nidhi Kulpati related to recent communal discord in Purola and Love Jihad, the CM asserted that people of all communities live peacefully in Uttarakhand.
However, the government is strict in respect of not letting the communal harmony in the state get disturbed. He asserted that he has given strict directions to the administration to not allow any kind of violation. However, he also added that the government will not allow the original faith and culture to be disturbed through any deliberate changes in demography and any attempt to cheat and take undue advantage of the State’s innocent girls and women, by people through mistaken identity or blackmailing will be very strictly dealt with. In response to a related question in respect of anti encroachment drive of the government by Kulpati, Dhami denied that any particular community is being targeted in the anti encroachment drive undertaken by the government. He said that it is not the intention of the government to harm any section. Uttarakhand is Devbhoomi. There is no bitterness or animosity between anyone here. There is harmony among all. However, no one can justify encroachment on government land. So far more than 2,000 acres of government land has been evicted of encroachments. Not only illegally built Mazaars but also some temples have been demolished. Still the government will clear around 3,500 acres of government land of encroachments. This land belongs to irrigation department, forest department and other government department. We urged everyone encroaching the government land to clear the encroachment on his or her own but if they failed to do so, the government will demolish the encroached properties.
Nidhi Kulpati claimed that while the BJP has been promising Uniform Civil Code, there are allegations that this exercise is being taken with an eye on 2024 polls. Dhami responded that BJP has been promising the Uniform Civil Code and the people too have been demanding. This is not a new demand. BJP had promised to bring UCC in its election manifesto for 2022 Assembly elections. The same promise is being implemented and the first thing after BJP retained power is to constitute a committee to draft UCC. He added that the committee has taken feedback from all stakeholders including members of the minority. The CM also added that he doesn’t understand why anyone should object to UCC. Even Muslim women and the intellectuals among the Muslims want it. Those opposing it are the ones who have followed the policy of appeasement of a particular section of the society.
Nidhi also spoke about how long traffic jams have been a common place in Uttarakhand and asked the CM how the government plans to tackle the problem. Dhami responded that the roads have been improved tremendously and now due to improved roads it takes lesser time to reach Badrinath and other Dhams and other places as compared to some years before. The road journey between Delhi and Dehradun will be reduced to just a little over than two hours once the work on Delhi-Dehradun elevated road is completed. He also claimed that after that people will prefer to travel to Dehradun by road rather than by flight. Earlier it used to take three hours or more to reach Haridwar from Dehradun. Now, except on weekends, this journey is completed in 45 minutes. To travel from Garhwal to Kumaon, Kashipur, Rudrapur, Haldwani, also will take much lesser time once the road from Afzalgarh to Najibabad is completed. It is due to better road condition that everyday that more and more people are travelling to Char Dham. More than 30 lakhs have already visited Char Dham while 10 lakhs have already visited Kedarnath. The CM however agreed that there are increased traffic jams in Dehradun, Mussoorie, Haridwar and Rishikesh and Nainital but added that it is due to more and more people wanting to come to Uttarakhand. He also added that there will be jams in future also but the government is developing alternate routes. He added that though the state’s population is 1.25 crores, the state usually carries up to 7 crores people and this caused the traffic jams.
Pushkar Singh Dhami added that the Centre and the state government are jointly working on road, air, railway connectivity in the state of Uttarakhand. A network of all-round roads is being laid, the work of elevated road from Delhi to Dehradun is in progress. In the coming times, the mutual connectivity of big cities will be easy and simple. Connectivity between Garhwal and Kumaon has also been improved. He further stated that with alternate tourist destinations being developed and linked with roads, the situation will improve.
In response to a question by Nidhi, Dhami also spoke about the challenges, he said that there are many challenges before the government but the government is determined to provide good administration and governance and that the Centre due to special emotional attachment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to Uttarakhand, the state is getting full support of the Centre. Modi has dedicated the Navaratna of development to the state of Uttarakhand. The government is continuously working on the development of Uttarakhand as per the dreams of the statehood agitationists. He admitted that due to special geographical locations, some challenges are bound to come like Joshimath but the state will face them as and when such challenges appear.
The Chief Minister said that due to the efforts of the State Government, confidence has been instilled in the youth today. For a long time, work has been done to strictly crack down on cheating in the examinations. The government is determined to ensure free and fair competitive examinations. So far, more than 80 mafia persons have been put in jail. The state government brought the strictest possible anti-copying law, in which there is a provision for strict legal action against the culprits.
In response to another question, the CM spoke of striking a right balance between development and environment and reminded the interviewer that the environmental protection is part of Uttarakhand’s culture where tree plantation festivals like Harela are celebrated.
President of Amar Ujala, Varun Maheshwari, Chief Secretary Dr SS Sandhu, Swami Chidanand Muni, Environmentalist Anil Prakash Joshi, Director General Information Banshidhar Tiwari, Vice President of Amar Ujala, Ashok Sharma, consulting editor Vinod Agnihotri, former Editor of Uttarakhand edition & senior journalist Sanjay Abhigyan, CEO and co-Founder of Safalta dot com, Himanshu Gautam, Dehradun Amar Ujala Daya Shankar Shukla, were among present on the occasion.
Dehradun, 19 Jun: Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, inaugurated a day long Amar Ujala Uttarakhand Samvad Programme at a local hotel here this morning. Managing Director of Amar Ujala, Tanmay Maheshwari, gave the welcome address and also gave a brief introduction of Amar Ujala’s journey and claimed that in last 25 years, Amar Ujala had stood with the people of Uttarakhand in their moments of joy and sorrow.
Leading News Anchor Nidhi Kulpati from NDTV interviewed Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami during the inaugural session in respect of the achievements of the government led by him, and on other issues including some contentious issues related to Uttarakhand. In response to one question asked by Nidhi Kulpati related to recent communal discord in Purola and Love Jihad, the CM asserted that people of all communities live peacefully in Uttarakhand.
However, the government is strict in respect of not letting the communal harmony in the state get disturbed. He asserted that he has given strict directions to the administration to not allow any kind of violation. However, he also added that the government will not allow the original faith and culture to be disturbed through any deliberate changes in demography and any attempt to cheat and take undue advantage of the State’s innocent girls and women, by people through mistaken identity or blackmailing will be very strictly dealt with. In response to a related question in respect of anti encroachment drive of the government by Kulpati, Dhami denied that any particular community is being targeted in the anti encroachment drive undertaken by the government. He said that it is not the intention of the government to harm any section. Uttarakhand is Devbhoomi. There is no bitterness or animosity between anyone here. There is harmony among all. However, no one can justify encroachment on government land. So far more than 2,000 acres of government land has been evicted of encroachments. Not only illegally built Mazaars but also some temples have been demolished. Still the government will clear around 3,500 acres of government land of encroachments. This land belongs to irrigation department, forest department and other government department. We urged everyone encroaching the government land to clear the encroachment on his or her own but if they failed to do so, the government will demolish the encroached properties.Nidhi Kulpati claimed that while the BJP has been promising Uniform Civil Code, there are allegations that this exercise is being taken with an eye on 2024 polls. Dhami responded that BJP has been promising the Uniform Civil Code and the people too have been demanding. This is not a new demand. BJP had promised to bring UCC in its election manifesto for 2022 Assembly elections. The same promise is being implemented and the first thing after BJP retained power is to constitute a committee to draft UCC. He added that the committee has taken feedback from all stakeholders including members of the minority. The CM also added that he doesn’t understand why anyone should object to UCC. Even Muslim women and the intellectuals among the Muslims want it. Those opposing it are the ones who have followed the policy of appeasement of a particular section of the society.
Nidhi also spoke about how long traffic jams have been a common place in Uttarakhand and asked the CM how the government plans to tackle the problem. Dhami responded that the roads have been improved tremendously and now due to improved roads it takes lesser time to reach Badrinath and other Dhams and other places as compared to some years before. The road journey between Delhi and Dehradun will be reduced to just a little over than two hours once the work on Delhi-Dehradun elevated road is completed. He also claimed that after that people will prefer to travel to Dehradun by road rather than by flight. Earlier it used to take three hours or more to reach Haridwar from Dehradun. Now, except on weekends, this journey is completed in 45 minutes. To travel from Garhwal to Kumaon, Kashipur, Rudrapur, Haldwani, also will take much lesser time once the road from Afzalgarh to Najibabad is completed. It is due to better road condition that everyday that more and more people are travelling to Char Dham. More than 30 lakhs have already visited Char Dham while 10 lakhs have already visited Kedarnath. The CM however agreed that there are increased traffic jams in Dehradun, Mussoorie, Haridwar and Rishikesh and Nainital but added that it is due to more and more people wanting to come to Uttarakhand. He also added that there will be jams in future also but the government is developing alternate routes. He added that though the state’s population is 1.25 crores, the state usually carries up to 7 crores people and this caused the traffic jams.
Pushkar Singh Dhami added that the Centre and the state government are jointly working on road, air, railway connectivity in the state of Uttarakhand. A network of all-round roads is being laid, the work of elevated road from Delhi to Dehradun is in progress. In the coming times, the mutual connectivity of big cities will be easy and simple. Connectivity between Garhwal and Kumaon has also been improved. He further stated that with alternate tourist destinations being developed and linked with roads, the situation will improve.
In response to a question by Nidhi, Dhami also spoke about the challenges, he said that there are many challenges before the government but the government is determined to provide good administration and governance and that the Centre due to special emotional attachment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to Uttarakhand, the state is getting full support of the Centre. Modi has dedicated the Navaratna of development to the state of Uttarakhand. The government is continuously working on the development of Uttarakhand as per the dreams of the statehood agitationists. He admitted that due to special geographical locations, some challenges are bound to come like Joshimath but the state will face them as and when such challenges appear.
The Chief Minister said that due to the efforts of the State Government, confidence has been instilled in the youth today. For a long time, work has been done to strictly crack down on cheating in the examinations. The government is determined to ensure free and fair competitive examinations. So far, more than 80 mafia persons have been put in jail. The state government brought the strictest possible anti-copying law, in which there is a provision for strict legal action against the culprits.
In response to another question, the CM spoke of striking a right balance between development and environment and reminded the interviewer that the environmental protection is part of Uttarakhand’s culture where tree plantation festivals like Harela are celebrated.
President of Amar Ujala, Varun Maheshwari, Chief Secretary Dr SS Sandhu, Swami Chidanand Muni, Environmentalist Anil Prakash Joshi, Director General Information Banshidhar Tiwari, Vice President of Amar Ujala, Ashok Sharma, consulting editor Vinod Agnihotri, former Editor of Uttarakhand edition & senior journalist Sanjay Abhigyan, CEO and co-Founder of Safalta dot com, Himanshu Gautam, Dehradun Amar Ujala Daya Shankar Shukla, were among present on the occasion.
Mallika Yash Asthana was the MC.
