Gairsain named Uttarakhand’s summer capital: All you need to know about the tehsil in Chamoli district

Gairsain in Chamoli district has formally been declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand. The declaration was made after Governor of Uttarakhand Baby Rani Maurya gave her assent. According to a report by Times of India, the development comes three months after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in the state budget session on 4 March had announced that Gairsain will become the summer capital of the state.[caption id="attachment_4870901" align="alignleft" width="380"] File image of Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. Twitter[/caption]Post receiving the nod from the Governor, the chief minister said, "Today is a historic day. The decision to make Gairsain the summer capital has been taken keeping the sentiments of people in mind. People from all sections of society have welcomed the decision. This was mentioned in our party’s vision document too and we have delivered on our promise.”He added that the move will benefit the state and will give rise to more job opportunities.According to a report by news agency ANI, the Uttarakhand chief minister said that Gairsain will have an e-Vidhan Sabha.About GairsainGairsain is a tehsil in Chamoli district and is located nearly 270 kilometres from Dehradun, which is the existing capital.The place is also the site of the source of the Ramganga river. The name of Gairsain has been derived from two Garhwali words 'gair' meaning at some depth and 'sain' meaning plains.Historically, it is believed that the Chinese traveller, Hiuen-Tsang visited Gairsain, the capital of Brahmaputra Kingdom during the 7th century.An Indian Express report stated then when the state was first carved out from Uttar Pradesh in 2000, activists had said that Gairsain was best suited to be the capital as it lay between Kumaon and Garhwal. However, Dehradun was named the 'temporary capital' instead.In its Vision Document released before the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP had said they would consider declaring Gairsain as the summer capital and promised to equip the place with “top-class infrastructure”.A number of people hailed the move on social media. Here's what they posted: