There was a time when people from the villages of Uttarakhand wanted to migrate and settle in cities. But now the local people are getting everything in the mountains itself, for which they were leaving their villages and going to other cities. Due to schemes like home-stay in Uttarakhand, the deserted villages in the Himalayas are becoming buzzing again. How much ground change has taken place in Devbhoomi due to these schemes.
Amidst the high peaks of the Himalayas, snow-clad peaks and its beautiful valleys, the team of TV 9 Bharatvarsha has been investigating the claims for the last several days that many schemes are said to have changed the picture of Uttarakhand. So, was that change really visible on the ground and in the lives of the people of Devbhoomi, about which claims have been made?
During this journey of several days in Uttarakhand, we reached a village in Devbhoomi, whose popularity is now increasing in the entire country. In a country that has adopted the basic mantra of Atithi Devo Bhava as its life philosophy, these places of Uttarakhand are now attracting guests coming from far and wide.
When most people go out of their home to visit other places and stay for a few days, they search for an environment similar to home there too. Home stays built in Uttarakhand are becoming the center of attraction for such people. Let us know about some such locations in detail.
The government has given preference to the home stay scheme to promote employment here. There is a lot of enthusiasm among the local people regarding this. Women are actively taking advantage of this. Local woman Renu Pawar Renu says that most of the guests coming to her home stay want the traditional food of Uttarakhand. The Chief Minister himself had also come here a few days ago. He liked the traditional food here very much.
Like Tiwad village in Tehri district, the trend of home stay has increased rapidly in other villages also. Deendayal Upadhyay Home Housing Scheme, along with tourism, is making the local people self-reliant and has also proved effective in stopping migration.
CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says, the home stay scheme is proving to be a game changer and people are including home stay as their first priority, because home stay is where more resources, more good food and good places for less money…means people who come here get another home like home. There is culture here, environment here, food here, lifestyle here, he gets the opportunity to know and understand them very closely.
By June 2025, more than 5000 home stays had been registered. Tehri district of Uttarakhand has the highest number of home stays. There are more than 23 home stays in Tiwar village of Tehri alone. To provide better options to tourists in Uttarakhand, the government also provides financial help, subsidy and training to the local people. Local women have benefited the most from these schemes.
What this change means for women, we saw after visiting a village in Dehradun after Tehri. Under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, local women are becoming self-reliant by joining self-help groups and are also changing the economic condition of their households. With the new schemes, the vision of a prosperous and self-reliant Uttarakhand is gradually coming true.
