By Our Staff Reporter
Nainital, 27 May: Governor Lt General Gurmit Singh (Retd) on Monday held separate meetings with various administrative officers at the Raj Bhavan, here, and obtained information about the division and the district. The Governor first met Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat and took information related to the division. These included the incidents of forest fire in the division and the actions taken. The Governor said that, at present, the tourism season is at its peak. In such a situation, the pressure of tourists is falling on Nainital, due to which there is a problem in the operation of traffic. He emphasised on finding concrete solutions to the problem of jams in Nainital and development of new parking. He said that parking and other alternative tourist sites should be developed.
Apart from this, the Governor sought information from the Commissioner about the efforts being made for planned development in Haldwani and the upcoming action plan. The Governor also discussed the works being done for the convenience of tourists in the Manskhand area and other development plans.
After this, the Governor inquired from DFO Chandrashekhar Joshi about the activities of the Forest Department including incidents of forest fire and efforts made to prevent it. He said that 70 percent of the state is forest but every year the forest wealth is being damaged due to forest fires. He asked the Forest Department needs to make a concrete action plan to reduce the incidents of forest fire. The Governor said that the department also needs public participation to reduce these incidents. He also appreciated the efforts of the department to prevent incidents of forest fire in Nainital district.
Lt Gen Singh inquired from CDO, Nainital, Ashok Kumar Pandey about the products being prepared by self-help groups in the district and the departmental efforts for their marketing. The Governor inquired about the registered home stays in the district. He asked the CDO to further increase the number of home stays. The Governor directed the CDO to make efforts to conserve and revive old Naulas to increase the underground water level. The Governor said that, apart from Nainital, other tourist areas also need to be developed. Apart from this, the Governor took information from the officials on many other issues.
