Trekkers to be given wrist bands to track locations for rescue
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government will provide location-monitoring wrist bands to trekkers and mountaineers so that their location can be tracked through satellite during emergency situations, chief secretary SS Sandhu said.
During a review of the tourism department on Thursday, Sandhu gave directions to the officers concerned that such location-monitoring wrist bands be provided to the trekkers and mountaineers so that they can be rescued by search teams in time if they go missing or get caught in extreme weather conditions `in higher reaches of the Uttarakhand Himalayas.
Many mountaineers and trekkers have lost their lives in the state after they went missing or were caught in extreme weather conditions during expeditions. Earlier this month, rescuers recovered the bodies of four navy personnel who went missing during an avalanche on Mt Trishul at an altitude of 6,700 metres in Chamoli. Earlier on September 24, an expedition of the Indian Army to scale Satopanth peak in Gangotri National Park found the body of a mountaineer who was part of an expedition of the army sent to scale the peak in 2005, in which few mountaineers had gone missing.
In June this year, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) rescued two trekkers, including one foreigner from Slovenia, from Hemkund Ghangaria trek route in Chamoli district.
In September 2019, a 37-yearold Hungarian mountaineer, Peter Wittek, had gone missing during an expedition to 7120-metre-high Mount Trishul.
During the review meeting, the chief secretary, while saying that Char Dham yatra is seasonal, emphasised that Uttarakhand has immense potential for off-season tourism. “Schemes be framed to promote off-season tourism in the state and officials should explore more possibilities in this regard,” he said.
On tourism promotion, Sandhu said more work needs to be done for improving connectivity in the state. “Work should be started at the earliest on the construction of helipads and heliports in the state. Priority should be given to building helipads and heliports in and around tourist spots. The areas that have lagged in tourism development due to connectivity issues, should be brought under focus,” he said.
Sandhu also pointed out that while providing facilities for tourists, care should be taken that all age brackets are catered to. “Young tourists love technology. Apps and a website should be designed where young tourists get all sorts of information. But for elders, who are not techno-savvy, information should be provided through offline means. The tourist spots should also be made child-friendly,” he said
Sandhu directed the officials to develop resorts in such areas which have good tourism potential but have not been developed due to lack of facilities. “These resorts should be initially run by Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam and later after they become promotable, should be sold to private players. The money raised should be used in the development of these tourist places.”