PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Jyotirmath Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the 74th State Industrial Development and Cultural Gauchar Mela on Saturday. The mela will continue for seven days. Addressing the gathering, he described the fair as a living symbol of Uttarakhand’s heritage, trade history and cultural pride. “Launched in 1943 as the Bhotia Trade Fair, Gauchar played a key role in historic India-Tibet commerce, serving as a major marketplace for wool, pashmina and local herbs,” he said. He paid floral tributes to the fair’s founder, Govind Prasad Nautiyal, while local schoolgirls presented folk performances. Narrating the evolution of the fair, the CM said it has established its unique identity not only in the state but across the country. “It has a long way to go expanding commerce from the state to outside,” he averred. On this occasion, Dhami launched two important schemes aimed at expanding and strengthening drinking water facilities in the region. They are the Gauchar Urban Drinking Water Scheme valued at Rs 32.45 crore, constructed under AMRUT 2.0 in Karnaprayag block and Maa Durga Water Supply Scheme aimed at strengthening the Gairsain Urban Drinking Water Scheme executed at an estimated cost of Rs 4.59 Crore in Gairsain block.