Encroachment, river pollution by hydropower projects bigger problems than rafting: Activists

NEW DELHI: As far as problems plaguing the Ganga in Uttarakhand go, environmentalists and locals say rafting is only the tip of the iceberg. The NGT, they say, should also do something about encroachment on the river bed by hotels and the "muck" dumped into Ganga by hydropower projects.

"Rafting, of course, needs regulation. But so many more cases are pending with NGT. The Vishnuprayag and the Srinagar hy droelectric projects are dumping millions of cubic meters of muck downstream. Rafting is a mild problem in comparison. We hope NGT takes a holistic view of ecological problems in Uttarakhand," said Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.

Activist Vimal Bhai is against a complete ban on camping. "These camps generate employment for locals. What is more dangerous are the dams that the government is promoting on the Ganga. Why aren't the concerns of local people heard?" Some environmentalists, in fact, suggest that rafting camps can help en gender a healthy relationship between people and the environment, and perhaps make them more responsible towards it.

However, others see it as a massive threat to the local ecology. A petition by NGO Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE) has raised a number of concerns about the large number of camps in the Kaudilya-Tapovan stretch eco-tourism zone, including disturbance to wildlife, pollution caused by waste dumped by rafters, open defecation on the river bed, and cutting of trees to make way for camps, and much more.

"To date, no study has been conducted on the carrying capacity of these flood plains. How can so many camps function without following the guidelines that exist?" asked advocate Rahul Chaudhary, who is representing the petitioner.

The fears are not entirely unfounded. A 2010 review of the 36 camping sites along the Rishikesh-Kaudiyala stretch of Ganga by Wildlife Institute of India found that 14 of them are not recommended as camping sites because of the potential impact on wildlife and their habitats.