Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], June 14 (India): Addressing the flag-off ceremony of the border-level tracking expedition 'Himadri-2025', Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami congratulated the tracking team and said that the expedition will help in the surveillance of sensitive areas.

Beginning his address at the event, CM Pushkar Dhami paid tribute to the people who lost their lives in the Air India-171 plane crash.

CM Dhami said, 'Firstly, I pay my tribute to all those who lost their lives in the Ahmedabad plane crash. I pay my condolences to all the bereaved families.'

He added, '...I extend my wishes to everyone in our tracking team...They will cover a challenging journey. It will help in the surveillance of sensitive areas and the border region. The work will be done to preserve the culture, language and other things...'

CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday participated in the flag-off ceremony of the border-level trekking expedition 'Himadri-2025', which was organised by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at the Mukhya Sewak Sadan of the Chief Minister's residence in Dehradun.

Speaking to reporters at the event, he said that the team will cover around 1,032 km and the journey will help promote tourism, culture, and development in nearby villages.

Pushkar Singh Dhami said, 'This team will cover a distance of around 1032 km. It is a challenging journey, due to which the nearby villages will get a chance to come forward from tourism, culture and development point of view...'

Dhami further told the reporters that the Char Dham Yatra is going on smoothly, with around 28 lakh devotees having offered prayers so far, and added that the safety of pilgrims remains the top priority.

'The Yatra is going on smoothly. It has been reviewed at many levels. The safety of devotees has always been our priority...Till now, around 28 lakhs of devotees have offered prayers during the Char Dham Yatra,' Dhami said.

Sharing a post on X, he wrote, 'The border level trekking expedition 'Himadri-2025' organised by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police was flagged off from the Government Residence. In this expedition, 47 members of ITBP will trek in the inaccessible border areas of Uttarakhand, Himachal and Ladakh and will not only get closely acquainted with the folk culture, lifestyle and environmental diversity of these areas, but it will also prove to be an important initiative towards reactivating the trekking routes which have been closed for years.' (ANI)