River rafting

In the past decade, adventure sports companies have mushroomed in the state, a popular destination for tourists from around the country, offering everything from white water rafting to paragliding to ziplining with no regulatory oversight. White water rafting in Uttarakhand is valued at a yearly ₹75-80 crore.

It employs 5,000–7,000 people including guides, cooks, instructors and drivers.

Kiran Todaria, president of the Indian Association of Professional Rafting Outfitters (IAPRO), says at least 300 rafting operators are active along a 36-km strretch of the Ganga. “It’s an industry that provides indirect jobs to no less than 10,000 families,” she said.

The petitioner said in his PIL that state authorities were giving illegal leases in favour of private agencies to organize water sports on the Ganga. According to the petitioner, temporary structures are being permitted to be set up on the banks of the river.

“We have also gone through the photographs. We can see people organising picnics inside the river water. They can be seen drinking in the river water. The sanctity of the river Ganga is not maintained by the respondentstate by permitting the lease of river beds,” the order said.

The HC noted that raw sewage was being permitted to directly flow into the river. The state government has till date not enacted any law to regulate white river rafting, paragliding or water sports, it said.

“The state government cannot be oblivious to its duties to regulate and restrict the unauthorised activities. The white river rafting is a serious sport. Paragliding is equally dangerous if not regulated. The water sports in big lakes like Tehri Dam can prove fatal. These are required to be regulated,” the court observed.

SS Chauhan, deputy advocate general representing the state government in the case, said that a law is in the offing.

“The state government has not pointed out precisely what is the yardstick, guidelines and parameters to sanction the lease in favour of the private parties on the river beds including for boating/rafting, paragliding and other water sports,” the HC said, noting the risk of people dying when a raft capsizes in the river.

“This can only be permitted to be managed by the highly trained professionals. The river beds cannot be leased out for a song. There has to be transparent procedure for inviting the applications after fixing the minimum rates for using the water. The state government cannot permit the use of rivers without fixing reasonable charges. The tourism must be promoted but it is required to be regulated. The sports for pleasure cannot be permitted to end in disaster”, the order said.

The HC said it was “shocked to know that the state government is permitting camping sites on the river beds,” adding that this “pollutes the environment and ecology of the river and the surrounding areas”.

The court said launching points of river rafting are choked with traffic.

“Huge rafts are placed on vehicles of small size. The vehicles, on which the rafts are carried out, are taken directly near the water itself. The state shall not permit the use of vehicles right up to the water of rivers,” the order said, adding that the rafts would have to be carried manually from some distance away. reveals Vanchinathan’s association with protests. After being produced before a magistrate, the accused is now lodged in Palayamkottai jail. We are looking out for the other lawyer,” Murali Rambha, superintendent of police, Thoothukudi, told Hindustan Times. So far, about 250 arrests have been made in connection with the last month’s violence, Rambha added.

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court earlier this week dismissed anticipatory bail petitions moved by the two lawyers.

“We strongly condemn the arrest of (Vanchinathan). He was arrested while he returned from New Delhi after attending a case before the Supreme Court, “said Jim Raj Milton, district secretary, People Right Protection Centre, Thoothukudi.

Meanwhile, the Madurai bench on Thursday dismissed the charges framed by the police against Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M), office bearers who conducted a public meeting in violence-hit Thoothukudi district on June 18. The police filed a case against CPI(M) Thoothukudi district secretary K S Arjunan for violating a court order that allowed a maximum audience of 1,000 for its public meeting. The police claimed that 1,720 people participated and booked cases against the organisers.

Meanwhile, Sterlite has appealed afresh to the district administration demanding that its staff be allowed to attend to an acid leak, which according to an affidavit filed in the Madras high court is “serious issue and if not attended may lead to adverse ecological impact. “

Thoothukudi district collector Sandeep Nanduri dismissed Sterlite’s claim . “The minor acid leak has been arrested. Till now more than 1000 metric tonnes of sulphuric acid has been removed from the plant. In two days’ time, the storage tanks will be completely drained,” Nanduri said, adding that another 300 tonnes of acid need to be removed. the issue for some time to find a way to deal with it.

“It is a crucial issue which needs to be dealt with urgently if South Kashmir is to be brought back to normalcy. Applying a break on such funerals and gatherings was one reason for announcing a halt on operations during the month of Ramzan,” said a Delhi-based government official.

That doesn’t seem to have worked, and so, with the state now under governor’s rule, the security forces are trying a different approach.