Yogi asks people to 'return to their roots'

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday urged people to return to their roots saying there cannot be an alternative to a mother or a motherland.

"We must reconnect with our roots because nothing can substitute a mother or a motherland," Yogi said at the second edition of Raibar, a programme organised by the state government to discuss development as an instrument to stop migration from the hills.

Addressing the programme which gives a call to Uttarakhandis settled outside the state to come back to their homes, Yogi advised retired officials from the state to settle in their villages.

Yogi, who hails from Uttarakhand, got nostalgic while talking about his childhood days in the hill-state and said that his high school was in Tehri.

He said the famous Tehri lake can become a great source of employment generation in Uttarakhand as it has immense potential for becoming an international hub of adventure tourism.

The state also has the potential to become a wind and solar power hub, he said.

Yogi also spoke of solving matters related to the distribution of assets and liabilities between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand which had been hanging fire for 17 years.

Talking about Uttarakhand's contribution to nation-building, he said rivers Ganga and Yamuna which originate from the Himalayan state irrigate the whole of north India.

Addressing the programme, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said his government was making efforts to build Uttarakhand as per the aspirations of people who fought for its statehood.

"We are looking for balanced growth, taking development to the remote hill areas that was the dream of people who fought for statehood," Rawat said.

He spoke of the encouragement being given by his government to organic farming in the state and steps being taken to produce fuel from dry pine leaves which cause wildfires.

"More than one thousand clusters for organic farming have been created in the state and dry pine leaves traditionally considered a curse for the state have been turned into a blessing. We are using it to produce fuel and electricity," he said.