DEHRADUN/NEW DELHI, August 2, 2015 (Times of India): A day after the National Green Tribunal accepted the Uttarakhand government’s submission that no new licenses will be issued to rafting camps and that renewal of licenses will also not be considered for the time being, both the rafting industry in the hill state and the hordes of tourists from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh who troop in for the popular river rafting activity are an unsure lot. NGT has also directed the Centre to submit its views on the impact of river rafting in the area. Though there is no blanket ban on rafting as yet – the next hearing in the case is on August 7 – plans for the time being have gone awry.
River rafting, a US$11 million-industry in Rishikesh that began in the 1980s with just five people, attracts a large number of domestic as well as foreign tourists. Campsites near the Ganga are weekend getaways for many in north India, with tourists in the thousands favoring a quick trip there for some much needed respite from city life. Rafting also offers one of the few options for adventure sports enthusiasts in north India.
At the heart of the NGT order is a petition by Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE), an NGO, which has raised a clutch of concerns about the large number of rafting camps, which include disturbance to wildlife, pollution caused due to waste junked by rafters, open defecation on the river bed, trees cut to make way for construction of camps, levelling of the river bed and much more.