Bahuguna lays foundation stone of Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain

Accompanied by Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal besides a host of MLAs, ministerial colleagues and senior government officials, the chief minister laid the foundation stone for the building at a plot spread over 498 acres of land at Bhararisain (Gairsain), saying a Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain will help it emerge as a hub of development activities.

Addressing the gathering at Gairsain, Bahuguna said it was the state government's tribute to those who made sacrifices for the creation of a separate Uttarakhand state.

"This is our way of honouring the aspirations and sentiments of the people of Uttarakhand," he said.

Gairsain, located at a height of 7,000 ft between Kumaon and Garhwal regions, is an emotive issue in the state with a large section of those who fought for a separate Uttarakhand in the 1990s in favour of the remote place in the hills of Chamoli district being made the permanent capital of the state.

The Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain is being projected by the ruling Congress as a move honouring the sentiments of Uttarakhand movement activists and as a major step towards achieving the final objective of giving it the stature of a permanent capital.

Striking an emotional chord with the hill people of the state, the Chief Minister held a meeting of his cabinet at Gairsain on November 3 last year and announced that a Vidhan Bhawan will be built there with at least one session of the House held there every year.

The plot was selected after assessing the viability of about half a dozen of them in terms of connectivity in Gairsain and adjoining areas in Chamoli district.

Apart from Vidhan Bhawan, a secretariat, hostels for legislators and officials and a 40-room guest house will be built on the site, officials said. (MORE)