The hills of Gairsain are once again the seat of Uttarakhand's legislative power — Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami shared a live broadcast of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly's Third Session of 2026 on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, signalling that the state's parliament-in-the-mountains tradition is very much alive.

Why Gairsain still matters to Uttarakhand's political identity

Gairsain, a small town in Chamoli district nestled deep in the central Himalayas, has carried an outsized symbolic weight since Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. Activists and hill communities had long demanded it as the state capital, arguing that Dehradun — geographically closer to the plains — poorly represents a state whose identity is rooted in its highland geography and culture.

Rather than formally shifting the capital, successive governments have responded with a practical compromise: rotating legislative sessions to Gairsain. The practice began in 2014 and has continued under every administration since, including the current BJP government led by Dhami. It is, in essence, governance as symbolism — the legislature physically travelling to the people rather than waiting for the people to travel to Dehradun.

The third session arrives as hill communities watch closely

Holding a session in Gairsain is not merely ceremonial. For residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar and other hill districts, it is a rare moment when legislators are geographically proximate to the concerns of remote communities — from road connectivity and migration to forest rights and disaster resilience. The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly is a unicameral house, meaning every vote and debate in the session carries full legislative weight regardless of venue.

Under CM Dhami, Gairsain sessions have also attracted attention as a testing ground for announcements targeted at hill districts. Any resolution or budget allocation for permanent infrastructure at Gairsain — a recurring demand from local lawmakers — would mark a meaningful step beyond symbolism.

The live broadcast: bringing the session to every screen

By streaming the session live on X, CM Dhami extended the reach of a sitting that geography already makes difficult to attend in person. The Gairsain venue is a multi-hour drive from Dehradun over mountain roads, making live access particularly valuable for citizens and media alike. The gesture reflects a broader pattern of Indian state governments using social media to project legislative transparency — especially for sessions held away from capital cities.

The assembly floor at Gairsain, when it fills with MLAs who have themselves made the climb into the hills, tends to generate sharper debate on mountain-specific grievances than sessions in the plains capital ever do. That alone makes this third session one worth watching.