NO More River Rafting in Rishikesh

         NO More River Rafting in Rishikesh



Bad news for the rafting lovers !!!!



The Uttarakhand High Court has banned water sports, white water rafting and paragliding in the state citing safety and environmental concerns. The order has come as a huge shock to the adventure tourism industry in their peak season. While the timing of the order dealt a huge blow to the tourism ministry during their peak season, most are unaware that the case regarding water sports in the state has been going on since 2014.

Established around the early 1980s, the white water rafting industry in Rishikesh has estimated annual revenue of close to 75-80 crores.

Hari Om Kashyap, a Rishikesh-based activist had filed a petition before the high court in 2014 stating that white river rafting is conducted in the state's waters without the supervision of any law. Acting on his plaint, the high court in its order earlier this week said, "We are shocked to know that the state government is permitting camping sites on the river beds. It pollutes the environment and ecology of the river and the surrounding areas." 

     

                                                                                                                                                              

A report by Hindustan Times asserts that the industry attracts as many as three lakh people every rafting season. The tourist influx is managed by more than 300 operators along the 36-km Kaudiyala-Rishikesh belt who offer lucrative rates as low as Rs 500 per person. 

While beach camping sites are one major concern, the death of rafters is another. Several cases in the past have illustrated how operators compromise on the safety of the rafters just to cut down on petty costs. However, the industry's impact on the river Ganga is by far the most serious threat posed by the rafting industry. While movement of both tourists and rafters in such large numbers causes erosion of the river bed, camps on river beds result in plastic waste and litter being thrown into the river which decimates an already troubled 2,525 km-long river Ganga.

Plastics have destroyed our eco-system and now are choking the rivers.

The sanctity of river Ganga is not maintained by permitting the lease of river beds. The raw 

sewage and other waste flow directly into the river.