DEHRADUN, July 15: The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam running 67 guest houses, hotels and tourist bungalows in Garhwal has decided to ban all soft drinks having foreign collaboration in retaliation to the sanctions imposed by the West on India after it conducted the nuclear tests in May.Devender Bhasin, chairman of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), who is also the official spokesman of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for the Uttaranchal region said here on Tuesday that the decision to ban foreign drinks was taken as it involved national prestige. Bhasin said he had taken Chief Minister Kalyan Singh into confidence before deciding on the issue.He said the decision to ban soft drinks manufactured by multinational companies would give a strong signal to the Western countries that India will not be cowed down by pressure.From now on, Pepsi Cola and Coca-Cola would not be served in the restaurants, guest houses and hotels of the Nigam. Indian-made soft drinks would be sold instead. "This would alsobring in self-reliance," Bhasin said.He said the Nigam had started an ambitious project to exploit the medicinal herbs available in the Himalayas in a scientific manner and to encourage farming of such herbs. A two-and-a-half acre farm at Kotdwar has already started functioning, he informed.The corporation has sought the permission of the State Government to allow it to collect herbs from the Garhwal Himalayas along with the local people. Bhasin said the corporation also plans to start a drug manufacturing unit based on such herbs.The UP Government has given a grant of Rs 20 lakh to the corporation to start a canning unit for fruit juices. Another grant of a similar amount has been given for the manufacture of fuel cakes using "Perul" leaves. The corporation has also been given a grant of Rs 50 lakh to start one more LPG agency and nine sub-depots in the region. Bhasin said the corporation has requested the Centre to grant 15 new LPG gas agencies to the corporation for the entire Garhwal region.
