Uttarakhand

• 06 Apr 2023

Badrinath will Take the Form of Smart Spiritual Hill Town

Why in News?

On 4 April 2023, Uttarakhand's Tourism Minister Saptal Maharaj said that the state's Badrinath Dham will be developed as a Smart Spiritual Hill Town (Spiritual Hill City).

Key Points

• To develop Badrinath Dham as Smart Spiritual Hill Town (Spiritual Hill City), work has started on the Badrinath Master Plan for Rs 425 crore in the first phase.
• It is known that Kedarnath's reconstruction work under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has developed Kedarpur in a grand and divine form. From 21 February till now, 3,49,944 Yatris have been registered for Kedarnath, 2,91,537 for Badrinath, 1,61,149 for Yamunotri and 1,66,310 for Gangotri Dham in Chardham Yatra.
• Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that air services are also being expanded in the state. The work on Char Dham All Weather Road and Rishikesh- Karanprayag Rail Project is going on in full swing. A target has been set to complete the Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib and Sonprayag-Kedarnath ropeways in three years.
• The state government has approved the ropeway project from Kharsali to Yamunotri to be built with an amount of more than Rs 166 crore.
• It is worth mentioning that the government has built Shakta, Shaiva, Vaishnava, Golju, Gurudwara, Hanuman, Nag Devta, Swami Vivekananda, Mahasu Devta, Narasimha Devta and Navagraha Devta circuits to promote religious tourism. Devotees coming to Chardham Yatra can visit these circuits.