Uttarakhand demands Rs 3,559 crore from Centre to revive tourism

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government has demanded Rs 3,559.81 crore for the re-construction of tourism infrastructural facilities damaged in massive floods here. State Tourism Minister, Amrita Rawat put forward this request before Central Tourism Ministry at a tourism ministers’ conference held at New Delhi yesterday, according to an official statement. The central government should declare a financial package of Rs 258.74 crore under a short-term plan, Rs 322.07 crore under mid-term plan and Rs 2,981 crore under long-term plan for the state, she said. [caption id=“attachment_970003” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Uttarakhand floods. AFP.[/caption] She also requested for an expert team to be sent to inspect the damage done to the tourism infrastructure and property here due to the natural disaster. Eight towns are completely safe despite the calamity and tourism infrastructure in popular tourist spots including Mussoorie, Nainital, Haridwar and Rishikesh are intact, she said. Amrita also requested all the tourism ministers to inform the tourists planning to come to Uttarakhand about the present situation. She also demanded to constitute institutional infrastructure for the progress of all the north-western Himalayan states. PTI