Safety and eco concerns behind U’khand HC ban

DEHRADUN: On June 5, five tourists from Haryana were arrested on charges of drinking on the Triveni ghat of Ganga in Rishikesh.

Earlier this year, a tourist, Raj (known only by his first name), from Delhi sustained fractures while paragliding in Naukhuchiyatal (Nainital).

And in January, a woman tourist from Delhi drowned in a white water rafting accident.

Instances such as these, as well the environmental toll taken on the river by adventure sports companies, may have prompted a division bench of Uttarakhand high court from banning rafting till the state government framed an oversight policy for it and other adventure sports. The order also covers paragliding. It is in response to a petition filed in 2014 by Rishikesh-based social activist Hari Om Kashyap.

Rafting in Rishikesh started in the early 1980s and became a huge industry by 2013. Though no official figures are available, people in the business say 200,000 to 300,000 people raft here every season; rafting is discontinued between July and September. The industry is estimated to generate ₹75-₹80 crore annually.

With over 300 rafting operators on the 36-km Kaudiyala-rishikesh belt, competition is stiff. At times, guests are lured by offering as low as ₹500 per head. A raft can carry up to 7-8 people and there are nearly 1,000 rafts.

“Rafting and beach camping are two components of adventure sports,” said Ratan Aswal, earlier involved in beach camping. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned beach camping in Rishikesh in 2005. Though this ban was revoked in 2017, the forest department is yet to allow beach camping sites.

“Earlier, beach camping sites mushroomed and now there are numerous rafting operators. At times, safety protocols are overlooked. This would have never happened had authorities ever intervened,” he said.

There have been allegations that in a rush to make money, the safety of rafters is often compromised. In January this year, a tourist from Delhi drowned in Ganga while rafting. Apart from the sanctity of the river, the safety aspect was also mentioned by the court in its order.

Gulshan Kumar, a rafting operator, said, “Adventure sports have some degree of risk though we make every effort to ensure the safety of guests.” Subdivisional magistrate (Narendranagar) Lakshmi Raj Chauhan, who monitors rafting activities, said, “I will have to go through the court order before commenting.”

Environmentalists expressed happiness over the court order. Anil Joshi, a Padma Shri awardee who heads the Doon-based Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation, said Uttarakhand was coping with more tourists than its carrying capacity.

“It is time to ponder why NGT and court have to step in to save the Ganga. On weekends, it looks as if there is a raft jam all over the river. This would not have happened if there was a policy to regulate tourist traffic and operators.” CHENNAI:DRAVIDA Munnetra Kazhagam(dmk) working president and party patriarch M Karunanidhi’s son MK Stalin on Friday exhorted his party workers to get ready for the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly elections although political observers said chances of a snap poll in the state look bleak despite uncertainty surrounding the current administration. Stalin was in Srirangam near Trichy and spoke to party workers and locals seeking their cooperation in helping the DMK gain power by unseating the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

Responding to Stalin’s remarks, RS Bharathi, Rajya Sabha member and organisation secretary of DMK, said, “We understand there are differences of opinion between chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and his deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam(ops) in leading the party. Apart from this, the outcome of 18 MLAS disqualification case is pending. If the judgment comes in favour of the disqualified MLAS, the Palaniswami government will fall.”

Bharathi added that in case the judgment was in favour of the speaker’s decision disqualifying the MLAS, who owe allegiance to TTV Dhinakaran, then the party would win “all 18 seats through elections”. Either way, he said, the government would go. This is the third time in a week that Stalin has indicated the possibility of a change in government.

Bharathi said there is a strong possibility that the state assembly election would be held along with Lok Sabha elections even though the assembly’s term is until 2021.

But RM Babu Murugavel, spokesperson for AIADMK, said, “CM EPS and the deputy CM OPS have clarified there are no differences between them. Also, both of them consult each other before taking decisions within the government and the party.”

A Marx, a senior political analyst from Chennai, said the government is unlikely to go. “The AIADMK government completely toes the line of the Union government in its every decision. So, I don’t think it will fall soon. However, there are chances for holding the legislative assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha election in 2019,” he said.

In his speech, Stalin urged the people of Tamil Nadu to vote for a secular front to rule the nation.