PM Modi visits last Indian village along Indo -Tibetan border Mana to participate in the ‘Saras Mela’

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is visiting Uttarakhand attended the 'Saras Mela' in Mana village of Chamoli district, on 21 October, 2022. 

Mana Village on the banks of river Saraswati is also known as the last Indian village along the India-Tibetan border in Uttarakhand is just 3 kms from Badrinath town.

The Saras Mela is normally organized by the Union Ministry of Rural Development all over India with a focus on a particular state. In the mela products made by the women Self Help Groups (SHG) are displayed and cultural activities are also held.

However this Saras Mela was organised at the local level with the participation of the local women SHGs. PM Modi also interacted with the local artisans and visited the stalls in the Mela. 

He laid the foundation stone for road widening projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore.

The two road widening projects - from Mana to Mana Pass (NH07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH107B), will not only provide last-mile all-weather road connectivity to the border areas but are also of strategic significance for the defence forces. 

The Prime Minister also visited Badrinath Temple accompanied by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami and the Governor of Uttarakhand, Retd. Gen Gurmit Singh.

Kedarnath 

Before visiting the Badrinath temple PM Modi visited Kedarnath temple in Rudraprayag which is dedicated to Lord Shiva.  

Ropeway Projects 

The Prime Minister laid the foundation of two ropeway projects in the state to be built at the cost of Rs. 2430 crore.

In Kedarnath he laid the foundation stone of the Kedarnath Ropeway Project. The ropeway in Kedarnath will be around 9.7 Km long and will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath. 

The Hemkund ropeway project in Chamoli district will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib. It will be around 12.4 Km long and will reduce the travel time from more than a day to only about 45 minutes. This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park in Chamoli.

Uttarakhand 

Uttarakhand was formed on 9th November 2000 as the 27th State of India. It was formed by carving out the hilly areas of Uttar Pradesh.

It shares international boundaries with China (Tibet) in the north and Nepal in the east. On its north-west lies Himachal Pradesh, while on the south is Uttar Pradesh.

 The state is also famous as God’s Land or Dev Bhoomi.

It has a total of 13 districts.

Official state symbols 

• State animal – Musk Deer
• State flower – Brahma Kamal
• State tree – Buransh (Rhododendron)
• State Bird – Monal
• State Instrument – Dhol