Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Monday flagged off the teams participating in the Asian River Rafting Championship being organized in the Sutlej River near Basantpur from March 4 to 9, 2024, from the historic Ridge Ground in Shimla.
20 teams including Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Iran, Iraq, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Indonesia are participating in this competition.
Sukhu said that the state government is committed to promoting tourism in the state. Recently, rafting marathon was organized successfully at Nadaun in district Hamirpur and last year, paragliding competition was organized at Junga in district Shimla. Adventure sports activities are being organized to provide employment and self-employment opportunities to the people in the state. This not only increases the revenue of the state but also strengthens the economy of the people.
The Chief Minister said that the tourism sector is the basis of the state’s economy and thousands of families are directly and indirectly connected to it. He said that the state government is making determined efforts to increase tourist traffic in the state by strengthening the infrastructure of the tourism sector so that the target of arrival of five crore tourists in a year can be achieved.
Industries Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan, Seventh Finance Commission Chairman Nandlal, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mohan Lal Brakta, MLA Harish Janartha, Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank Chairman Devendra Shyam, Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation Vice Chairman Kehar Singh Khachi, Mayor of Municipal Corporation Shimla. Surendra Chauhan, Congress leaders Satpal Raizada and Surendra Mankotia, Director Tourism and Civil Aviation Mansi Sahay Thakur, Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.