Dehradun:

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has taken cognisance of the incident that happened with a family of Pithoragarh’s Berinag where a family had to take the body of their son on roof of an SUV as they were unable to pay the charges of ambulance, said a statement from CMO.

The Chief Minister has ordered Health Secretary Dr R Rajesh Kumar to conduct a detailed investigation of the entire incident. Expressing strong displeasure over the incident, the CM has given strict instructions to the officials not to repeat such an incident in future, added the statement.

Dr R Rajesh Kumar said that answers have been sought from the concerned officials regarding the entire incident. Strict action will be taken against the culprits in the investigation.

Notably, a youth from Pithoragarh allegedly ended his life in Halduchaud. A family did not have money to take the son’s body to Pithoragarh. The ambulance drivers demanded 10 to 12 thousand rupees. In such a situation, the family called the SUV driver of their village tied the body to the roof of the SUV and took it to Pithoragarh, read the statement.

In line with the instructions given by the Chief Minister regarding this incident, the officials said that all efforts are being made to ensure that such an unfortunate incident is not repeated anywhere in the state.

Earlier on Saturday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday participated in various events organised by the villagers and local residents in Rudraprayag’s Sari village.

He said that the state government was working towards increasing homestays.The Chief Minister said that along with strengthening the rural economy, homestays also make the tourists coming to Uttarakhand from the country and abroad aware of the rich culture of the state. He said that a large number of homestays are being operated in the state, employing thousands of local people.CM Dhami said that Sari village was an ideal village where there are more than 40 homestays. The state government was increasing homestays, he added.

Dehradun:

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Sunday that religious conversion, encroachment, “land jihad and thook (spit) jihad” will not be allowed in ‘Devbhoomi’ Uttarakhand.

He also called upon the educated people to come forward to stop such things.

At a felicitation ceremony in Udham Singh Nagar district’s Kichha, the chief minister said that Uttarakhand is ‘Devbhoomi’ where everyone lives together.

“But religious conversion will not be allowed in Uttarakhand, encroachment will not be allowed, land jihad will not be allowed. Some people are doing spit jihad in Uttarakhand, but spit jihad will not be allowed in the state,” Mr Dhami said.

“Educated people should come forward to stop bad things in the society. Whatever is wrong, will not be tolerated. This will not be tolerated in Uttarakhand at any cost,” he said.

Recently, two brothers – Naushad Ali and Hasan Ali, residents of Khatauli in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh – were arrested for allegedly spitting in a tea pot and serving that tea to customers.

Mr Dhami said his government is taking tough but necessary decisions. He mentioned the anti-copying law, anti-riot law etc and said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will also be implemented in the state soon.

He said the people of Uttarakhand had given a mandate to his government for UCC and it will become the first state to implement it in independent India.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)