Excelsior Correspondent
UTTARKASHI, Jan 29: In an important decision taken towards rehabilitation of Border Villages under the Vibrant Village Programme the U’khand Government has chosen Jadung village to be first rehabilitated border village in Uttarkashi district.
It may be recalled that the village of Jadung has not been inhabited since 1962, when the villagers were moved out during the Indo-China war.
The decision in this regard was approved by the State Cabinet meeting held here today.
In the first phase, the Tourism Department is planning to renovate and refurbish 6 homes which are currently in a dilapidated State and promote them as Homestays.
The unique feature of this project is that, while the Department of Tourism shall be redeveloping the houses as homestays, these shall be operated and run by the villagers. The houses shall be refurbished in vernacular architecture using locally available material.
“This will enable generation of self-employment opportunities for the villagers of Jadung and provide a unique tourism destination. The homestays will be operated by the villagers at least for a period of 10 years,” said Sachin Kurve, Secretary, U’khand Tourism Department.
The homestay operators will be chosen by the District Administration of Uttarkashi by seeking applications from the original inhabitants of the village. The operational guidelines for the homestays have also been finalised.
The Tourism Department is also planning to provide adequate skill and soft skills training to the homestay operators, which would be organised from time to time by the department.
The department will provide necessary support for marketing and promotion of these homestays.
After the approval by the State Cabinet, the project is set to be rolled out soon by the State Tourism Department.
The Government expects that the scheme shall become a milestone towards reverse migration through Government intervention and create new opportunities for tourism.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
