At village bordering China, PM Modi pitches for 'Vocal for Local'

Badrinath (Uttarakhand) [India], October 21 : As part of the Vocal for Local initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Uttarakhand on Friday appealed to people, particularly tourists, to spend money on purchasing locally made products.
"I appeal to all tourists in the country to spend at least 5 per cent of their travel budget on buying local products," Prime Minister Modi said at a public event held at Badrinath's Mana, the last village bordering China.
Earlier too, he had appealed to fellow Indians on various occasions to purchase indigenous products to sustain the local economy.
Talking about villages situated near international borders and far-flung areas, the prime minister said every village located in the border areas will be now considered as the first village of India.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for road widening projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore.
According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the two road widening projects - from Mana to Mana Pass (NH07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH107B) - shall be another step towards providing last-mile all-weather road connectivity to our border areas. Apart from boosting connectivity, these projects will also prove beneficial from a strategic point of view as well.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the progress of development work of the riverfront in Badrinath on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister offered prayers at Badrinath and Kedarnath.
In Kedarnath, he laid the foundation stone for a ropeway project, which will be around 9.7 km long and will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath, reducing the travel time between the two places from 6-7 hours at present to only about 30 minutes.
The ropeway is estimated to cost Rs 2,430 crore.