Migration from hills challenge to cultural conservation: Harish Rawat

Describing migration from hills as the biggest hurdle in conserving Uttarakhand's culture, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said policies are being formulated by his government to create employment opportunities in remote areas and stop exodus of locals.

"Migration from hills poses the biggest danger to cultural conservation. But, we can't stem the process until we create jobs for locals. "The tendency to migrate has now entered extremely remote areas of Pauri and Almora from where people have begun to migrate in droves to big cities in search of work," Rawat said.

The state government is working on new agricultural, industrial and floricultural policies encouraging local entrepreneurship in these sectors to stop this process, he told a workshop on cultural conservation in Uttarakhand held in Delhi yesterday.

Airstrips are being constructed at Gauchar, Chinyalisaurh and Pithoragarh which will generate employment opportunities, the Chief Minister said. Hydel power up to 2 mw can be produced at the individual level with 90 per cent assistance from the state government, he said.

"These steps are being taken to promote entrepreneurship at the local level so that people are not forced to leave their homes in search of work for it is the people who sustain and nourish our cultural traditions and keep them alive," the Chief Minister said.

Asking people in villages to resort to cluster-based agriculture, he said if they grow turmeric, lemon grass and herbs in clusters, the state government will help in selling their produce in markets outside the state.