Garhwal Post Bureau
Lansdowne, 21 Aug: A two-day training programme on homestays was organised by the Kalagarh Tiger Reserve Division, Lansdowne, at the Forest Rest House in Rathuadhab under the Adnala Range on 19 and 20 August. The programme was conducted by Adnala Range Officer Rupa Rani, who welcomed the participating officials and local residents.
During the training programme, founder of Lansdowne Trip Trails Cafe Amit Srivastava shared his experience and stressed the importance of giving priority to wood and other natural materials while constructing homestays. Tourism Department representative Sanjay Negi shared information about the rules, the prescribed format and the documents required for setting up homestays, including the land records, proof of permanent residence, Aadhaar card, map, the bank NOC and also the documents related to land under Section 143.
State Bank, Kotdwar, representative Sandeep Singh Bohra shared information regarding the loan facilities and procedures available for homestay construction. Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kalagarh Tiger Reserve Division, Lansdowne, Tarun Sridhar (IFS) also interacted with the villagers and suggested that representatives of Eco Development Committees should regularly raise local issues so that they could be addressed effectively.
Deputy Conservator of Forests Devendra Singh Bharti appreciated the initiative to organise the training programme. On this occasion, certificates were also distributed to all the participants, while Bachchan Singh, Manoj Negi and Devendra Bharti were awarded first, second and third positions respectively for their enthusiastic participation. The participants also appealed for greater development of local nature trails to promote tourism in the area.
Around 30 local participants, along with officers and employees of the Forest Department, participated in the two-day programme. Those present included senior forest officers Deputy Divisional Forest Officer Shipra Verma, Deputy Divisional Forest Officer Sonanadi Division Kotdwar Anamika Bukerwal, Forest Range Officers Amol Bishtwal, Kriti Negi and other departmental personnel.
