The historic Gauchar Fair started today with Chief Minster Harish Rawat inaugurating it here on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru.
The fair serves as a platform to showcase the state government's development and industrial activities.
Aimed at creating a market for tribal merchandise, the fair is held every year on Rishikesh-Badrinath highway since pre-independence.
Jauljivi in Pithoragarh district and Gauchar in Chamoli district have been associated with Indo-Tibetan border trade and a large number of traders from Tibet used to participate in the fair in the past.
People from far-off places used to converge at the fair to buy goods from Tibetan traders before the suspension of Indo-Tibetan border trade in 1962.
