Uttarakhand: Retired officers to work for revival of their villages

Former bureaucrats and para military force personnel have decided to devote their post-retirement life to re-populate and revitalise their over a dozen border villages of Johar Valley.

They feel revitalisation of border villages is possible through the revival of traditional occupations and a push to adventure sports activities.

Border villages of Uttarakhand have seen large-scale migration in search of livelihood over the years.

At a meeting held in Munsiyari on Monday under the chairmanship of former IAS officer Surendra Singh Pangti, speakers said they will pressurise the Centre and the state government to pursue policies that could result in the revival of traditional occupations. ''The traditional woolen trade with Tibet ceased after the 1962 Indo-China war and in the absence of these traditional occupations, locals migrated from Johar Valley villages in search of new occupations,'' said former ITBP officer Sriram Singh Dharmasaktu, who heads the Malla Johar Vikas Samiti that organised the meeting.

Establishing old occupations of woodcraft and cultivation of medicinal plants with the help of the governments is also needed, the speakers, mostly retired officers from the Valley settled in cities said.

According to Dharmasaktu, the speakers have also demanded that adventure sports events like a cycle rally organised recently in Vyas Valley should be held in Johar Valley too.

For that repairing the old trek routes, modernising the communication system in villages of the Valley and special arrangements to protect houses of remaining residents during winter migration is needed, said Pangti.

The speakers also demanded relaxing the inner line permit laws for tourists who want to visit Asia's biggest glacier, Milam, and strengthen basic facilities of drinking water, electricity, roads and communication in the Valley villages to bring them back to life.