The mighty
Ganga is much revered by the Hindus. It is believed that a dip in the
holy river and all the sins are cleansed. Pilgrims throng the river
banks at Rishikesh in hordes. The population pressure can be seen every
where and banks of the River Ganga are no exception.
During the last 40 years a new dimension has developed on the banks of
the Ganga in the area between Biyasi in the mountains and Rishikesh in
the plains. It is the 'River Tourism' that is bugging the
environmentalists and the sociologists alike. The stretch of Ganga is
made available to the tourists for various purposes ranging from camping
to river rafting. Tents are pitched bang on the banks of the river and
the impact of all this activity on the River and the surroundings makes
an interesting reading.
N.A Farroquee, T. K. Budal and R. K. Maikhuri of G.B. Pant Institute of
Himalayan Environment and Development, Garhwal Unit, Srinagar (Garhwal)
carried out an environmental and socio-cultural study of the impact of
tourism along the banks of the Ganga in this area. Their report in the
March 2008 issue of Current Science is quite illuminating.
Charmed by the mountain slopes, lush green forests and the rivers,
tourists are lured to the Himalayas. These mountains have been a centre
of attraction for the foreign and the Indian tourists alike. Even in the
days of the past lots of travelers, adventurers and the like covered the
length and breadth of the mighty Himalayas. But in the recent years
tourism has caught up as an industry in a big way in the Himalayas.
Tourism has been one of the global economic success stories in the last
40 years say Farroquee et al. It accounts for about 5.5% of the worlds
Gross National Product (GNP) and 6% of the employment.
Well if it is such a paying business then where is the problem?
Truly speaking a fall out of this kind of activity that involves people
flock to one place in hordes and its impact on the local society and
environment has not been studied systematically. The study carried out
by Farroquee and co-workers is one of the pioneering efforts in this
direction. They have been able to bring out a picture of possible
fallout of such tourism on the society and environment.
Tourism on one hand promises assures employment for the hill youth, it
leads to sociological imbalance often because of the tourist host
relationship and development of the industry itself. For example a
farming community of the foothills finds sudden income by working as
porters with the tourist camps quite lucrative. The adverse impacts are
loss of interest in their traditional vocation, farming and lure of the
glitter. Social and cultural changes to host societies include changes
in value systems, traditional lifestyles, family relationships,
individual behavior or community structure say Farroquee et al.
Local society and the government do consider the positive side of the
impact of tourism on the society that is pecuniary aspect. However, the
negative aspects have been ignored. For example, Ganga being a pious
river should it be used for commercial activities like river rafting etc
in this area or not has not been studied.
Dotted along the 36 km length of the River Ganga between Kaudiyala and
Rishikesh along the road to Badrinath road, are a number of tourist
camps. Farroquee and his co-workers selected this area for their study.
There are around 45 villages within 500 m of the camps between these two
locations along the Ganga. There were two private camping sites at
Brahmpuri and Shivpuri near Rishikesh in 1994. And these researchers
found that prior to 1996 there were just two river camping sites one
near Shivpuri and the other at Byasi some 35 km upstream from Rishikesh,
owned by the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, Government of Uttar Pradesh.
The growth of the camping sites has been phenomenal in the post 1997
period. Today the area boasts of 45 camps between Byasi and Shivpuri.
The maximum number of camps are concentrated at Singtali and then at
Shivpuri. These camps along the Ganga cover an area of 183,510 sq m
area. These camps have accommodation ranging from 15 to 35 persons per
camp. The average number of toilets per camp ranges from 4 to 10. Each
camp has a separate kitchen and a dinning hall.
The lure of
earning money through river tourism was so much that many locals pitched
tourist camps on their land on the river bank. Others sold their lands
to tour operators. That is how suddenly there has been a spurt in the
number of camps. The figures quoted by Farroquee are for 2006. A ten
percent rise in the number of camps can not be ruled out. Locally people
of the villages within 500 m of the camps have mixed feelings bout
encouraging river tourism on the Ganga. While a majority feels that it
is good for economic growth, a section of the population says that their
social and cultural fabric was being threatened.
A liberal attitude of the government to boost river tourism is not
entirely wrong, but on the other hand a close watch has to be put on the
activities. We already know the consequences of large scale tourism on
the beaches of Goa. The freedom has been misused there.
The tourist camps on the banks of Ganga are being extensively used for
river rafting. During the year 2004-05 the paper by Farroquee et al
informs that about 12,726 visitors used the commercial facility
available. The camp sites are allotted measured spaces. Apart from this
the government does not permit rafting after 6PM, use of firewood in
camps is prohibited, camp fires are allowed only on gazetted holidays
and Sundays and that too on metallic plates and not directly on the
surface of the beach, only solar electricity is permitted that too till
9PM only and loud music and bursting of crackers is totally prohibited
in camp areas. Wood for camp fire can only be procured from the forest
department and not from local sources, the ash generated after a camp
fire has to be disposed off at designated places and not directly in to
the river. Toilets are permitted at a minimum distance of 60 m from the
river and dry types of soak pits are mandatory.
The forest officer can inspect any camp at any time and the camp owner
can be fined or prosecuted according to the offence he has committed.
On the economic front the river tourism may be beneficial as it provides
succor to many. But on the environment front, despite the governments
above regulations there is a grave threat. The camps are pitches in
areas much larger than allotted. All other regulations are flouted. The
worst being, the construction of toilet tents right on the sand on the
river bank. During rains these toilet pits get flooded and the fecal
matter in them percolates down to the depths polluting the groundwater
of the area. Camp fires are held as and when demanded and the matter is
directly dumped in to the river.
The financial gains by the tour operators and employment generated for
the locals is miniscule compared with the loss of environmental
resources. As it is studies have shown that between 1970 and 2000
biodiversity has declined by 40%, whereas the footprint of man on the
earth has grown by 20%. Thus the impact of development has been such
that the rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer. The
pressure on environmental resources has increased tremendously in the
area studied by Farroquee and co-workers. It is imperative. When
tourists flock in demand for all local resources is bound to increase.
Energy requirements of the locals have also increased many folds owning
to growing population. On the other hand they find it difficult to
manage as selling wood to camps seems to be a more paying proposition to
the salesmen. Similarly other local produce too finds a way to the camps
in search of more money. The local women and girls have to constantly
search new areas for bathing etc as their traditional areas have been
captured by the campers. Some of the camping sites have even usurped the
cremation grounds and the locals have to search for new sites to cremate
their dead. Wood for cremation too is becoming scarce as it has more
demand in the camps.
It is time that before encouraging further camps the government should
take up environment impact assessment of the area. An in depth study of
the socio-environmental impact on the area due to river tourism is also
recommended by the authors. It is time that the quantum of garbage
generated by the camps is a major concern and needs an institutional
study on the pattern of Sagar Matha base camp, the starting point for
the Mount Everest climbers.
By encouraging adventure tourism, river tourism etc in the mountain
areas we are certainly emulating the western countries. There is no harm
in doing so. But on the other hand we have to impose some discipline
amongst the camp organizer, local population and also the campers to
maintain the religious, environmental and social sanctity of the area.
Boloji.com is owned and managed by
Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
The mighty
Ganga is much revered by the Hindus. It is believed that a dip in the
holy river and all the sins are cleansed. Pilgrims throng the river
banks at Rishikesh in hordes. The population pressure can be seen every
where and banks of the River Ganga are no exception. 