State expands adventure tourism push to Pauri, announces paragliding centre in Nayar Valley

Dehradun: After establishing adventure hubs in Tehri and Rishikesh, Uttarakhand is now aiming to promote adventure tourism in Pauri district. The Nayar Valley Festival, inaugurated on Thursday at Bilkhet in Pauri, marks a significant step in that direction. On the occasion, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the setting up of a paragliding training centre in Nayar Valley.The festival is being seen as an effort to carve out a distinct identity for the region's vast potential in tourism, culture and adventure sports. Along with the paragliding centre, Dhami announced infrastructure development at Rasalwan Deeva Temple in the Pokhra development block, Kalinka Temple in the Bironkhal development block, Ekeshwar Mahadev Temple in the Ekeshwar development block and Champeshwar Mahadev Temple in the Pabau development block to boost religious tourism.Adventure activities such as paragliding, paramotoring, hot air ballooning, mountain biking, kayaking, angling, ziplining, Burma bridge crossings and reverse bungee jumping are among the major attractions of the festival."The Nayar Valley region is endowed with immense natural beauty and adventure tourism potential," Dhami said, adding that such initiatives would generate self-employment opportunities for local youth and bolster the regional economy. He also noted that construction of the National Institute of Technology in Srinagar is underway at a cost of Rs 650 crore, while a modern sewerage treatment plant worth Rs 135 crore is being set up to clean and rejuvenate the Khoh river.Additionally, work is in progress on the state's first NCC academy in Gadiya village of Pauri, a Rs 11 crore solid waste processing plant in Kotdwar, and a bridge over the Malan river, the CM added.