The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), which occupies a stregetic position along the entire northern and eastern boundary of the country and administratively covers 10 states in their entirety. They are: J& K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and two states partially(the hill districts of West Bengal and Assam)
What we get from the Himalayan Region:
- Serves as Habitat for millions
- Acts as a giant carbon 'sink'
- Innumerable goods ( Wood, flowers, herbs, food and cereal vareities, honey, livestock, tea, coffee and spices)
- Provides water to around 50 crore people from its glaciers
- Houses most important pilgrimage centres of Hinduism and Buddhism
- Known for its Himalayan Bio-diversity
- Plays a major role in deciding the climate of India, Bhutan and Nepal
- Acts as a protective wall for India from aggressors
- Has many tourists' destinations as hill stations, pilgrim centres, health centres, meditation centres, trekking and mountaneering platforms and motor racing /canoe /para gliding centres
What is the problem now?
The continuing onslaught of man over ecology is disturbing. The unbridled population growth and migration, tourists' influx in millions, unchecked building activity, unscientific way of disposing garbage, poor waste managemet, hurdles in transport, ethnic ways of tradition which compounds environment issues, mushrooming hospitality industry, factories' abominal growth, use of pesticides and chemicals in agricultural lands which drain water into the rivers, cattle and human bathing in millions and so on has reduced the rivers of this region as mere gutter carriers.
The recent Uttarakhand Floods is a warning.
Rapid unplanned growth of all hill towns and villages and the desire for the so called 'growth' has made people discard all rules and guidelines in construction and allied activities. When nature returns with fury we the humans have no answer and can only count the bodies of men and cattle and assess damages to propeties.
Steps Taken
The HP governemt has banned the use of plastic carry bags which are below 70 microns and a total ban on plastics is on since 2009. But the implemetation is so tardy and the people who visit the state do not co operate.
What the Toutists/ Pilgrims do?
Just throw on the sides of the roads or on the roads things like empty tetra packs of cold drinks, packed fast food items' packing materials, empty packs of varieties of snacks, oil/shampoo saches and so on. The most kind and the patritoic throw the empty beer/ alchocol bottles into the rivers/rivulets or on roadsides and the most godly smash them on roads or on the hills and derive 'cruel pleasure'.
What can the govt. do?
Not much. It is for the tourists to conserve and preserve their wonderful treasure in all possible wasys. It is practically impossible to guard all our water bodies and our hill stations by posting millions of men in uniform.
- But the goverment can ban the sale and transfer of lands/immovable propeties to outsiders as in Kashmir. All the Himalayan states can be protected from the onslaught of the people from the main land.
- Limiting the influx of tourists and fixing quota for each state and season
- Imposing heavy fine on vioaltors of rules
- Helping the local bodies to manage solid/liquid waste and help create necessary infrastructure for the job.
- Taking the help of religious heads to spread the message of eco-friendly darhsans/yatras/rituals
- Making the pilgrims contribute their time/service in maintaining the temple precincts ( as done in Gurudhwaras)
- Banning the manufacture/distribution/carrying/using materials that are non-bio-degraddable
- Encouraging companies to go for eco friendly pacakaging
- Supplemting the income of the local peoples/communities with monthly monetary aids to help them compensate the loss they may suffer due to the reduced inflow of tourists/pilgrims
- Awarenss and capacity building of the stakeholders.
- Ban new construction and encourage people to go for eco-friendly building materials
- Ban deforestation for any purpose
- Incase of earth quake prone, seismic areas make the builders use earth quake resistant materials and constrution methods
- The same may location-specific (Construction)
- Learn that TOURISM can never be an industry and depended upon for economic growth.
- When the land area is limited how to increase the income without increasing the number of visitors ( A right example is the queuing up of cars to Ooty from Mettuppalayam during the summer season)
- Instead of creating new infrastructure like hotels encourage local communities to go in for 'community tourism' . (Scarcely experimented/done in some parts of our country. Homestays)
- Make pilgrims participate in conservation/preservation of pilgrim centres ( Declare that all have to plant a sapling in the hill states as part of a ritual/ watering the plants/weeding the plants)
- Collect environment fees, restrict entries and stay time restrictions
- Screen the baggage of tourists for limiting non-bio degradable materials
- Ensure the availability of local art and craft designs/ works at the originating stations. ( A Thanjavur - Agra platform in Thanjavur Junction can have Agra Peda on sale at Agra rates and at Agra the Thanjavur Plates can be made available at an affordable rate)
- Help the local communities to improvise their native arts/crafts designs, agro products, herbal products, and their sale
- Think of retaining our traditional modes of transport in eco-fragile regions. Horses, Donkeys, Poneys and Bulls may be supplied free of cost with mainenace too given and charging higher fees from the tourists - branding them as ' 'eco-tour', 'royal ride', 'earth tour', 'nature ride' etc.,
- Make regulation a part of development
- Impose motorised vehicle restriction beyond certain points and use traditional transport
- Go for local food and drinks which do not require import of materials from other statesor towns
- Stop constructing dams in hill areas
- Form lakes or ponds gradually
To be continued....
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