Governance
Tourism in Uttarakhand’s Border Villages
- 31 Jul 2020
- 2 min read
Why in News
Recently, the Central government has decided to boost tourism in Uttarakhand villages that border China.
- Uttarakhand shares a 350-km border with China.
Key Points
- In the backdrop of the Galwan Valley standoff, the Centre is planning to build a second line of defence in border villages of Uttarakhand by relaxing tourism-related activities.
- The Central government wants to make India’s border villages safe, for which it has mooted the concept of tribal tourism.
- The first step in the direction will be to free some parts of Uttarakhand from the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system.
- Once the ILP system is lifted, the state tourism department would encourage houses in the villages to be developed as homestays which will directly help the village economy.
- Visitors in border villages would also get to taste tribal cuisine.
- The Uttarakhand government has also announced steps to improve critical infrastructure, promote tourism and civilian settlements in the border areas of the state.
Benefits:
- It will ensure safety and surveillance of border villages and troops will get additional support.
- It will boost the economy of bordering villages and provide employment.
- It will also stop outward migration.
- Most of the border villages see outward migration owing to a lack of livelihood opportunities.
