INDIA. Uttarakhand: An official from the Indian government announced on Thursday that an adventure cycle rally will be held in the second week of May from Gunji to Adi Kailash in Pithoragarh, in an effort to connect and revitalise villages near the India-China border in Uttarakhand.
The participants would cover a distance of 36 kilometres, beginning at Gunji hamlet and ending near Adi Kailash hill in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. The goal is to promote adventure tourism activities in order to revitalise towns. For the first time, such an event will be held in a border village.
“We have instructed officers to form a core committee to look after the implementation of the event and make necessary arrangements,” Pithoragarh District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan added.
Mythological importance of the region
Lord Shiva’s first stop on his route to marry Goddess Parvati with a bridal procession, according to ancient legendary scriptures, was Adi Kailash. He became so fond of this place that he lived here from time to time with Goddess Parvati and the latter’s bathing place – Parvati Sarovar is a testimony too. Adi Kailash is considered his second home.
The government gives a financial nod
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India has recently given a financial nod to widening 76 km of road starting from Tawaghat to Kali Mandir, the origin of river Kali in Uttarakhand. This stretch forms part of the stretch from Tanakpur in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh on the China border.
Notably, Union Highways minister Nitin Gadkari had recently told Parliament that the highway can ease accessibility from Pithoragarh district to Kailash Mansarovar.
This development comes nearly two years after Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister, Government of India inaugurated the road link from Dharchula (in Uttarakhand) to Lipulekh and had also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji through video conferencing.
The ministry in December last year had declared this entire stretch as National Highway. The Border Road Organisation (BRO) has completed the hill cutting on this stretch. According to estimates, the widened road will have the capacity for 10,000 vehicles per day and will prove to be a boon for the region as it will bring more tourists and pilgrims.
The rally, dubbed “Towards Adi Kailash,” would be open to all adventure bikers, according to Ashish Chauhan, the Pithoragarh District Magistrate.
“An event like this is being held because Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt is keen on revitalising border settlements through such adventure activities,” he continued.
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