Shimla: There were a record over 1.14 crore tourists who visited the state in 2009, which was more than 17 percent from the previous year. The states current population is projected to be only 70.29 lakhs.

In response to a question by Kaul Singh (congress), during question hour chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal let the legislative assembly know that with an objective to increase the staying span of tourists, 125 places had been selected, some of which were new, for which funds from central and state government would be used to develop suitable accommodation and connectivity.

He said that 1,14,37,155 tourists visited Himachal in 2009. Of these 1,10,36,572 were domestic and 4,00,583 were foreign tourists. In 2008 we had 97,49,433 visitors, he said.

Central tourism ministry has sanctioned Rs 23.45 crore of which Rs 6 crore had been released for offbeat tourism, Rs 5.72 crore for Shimla Theog, Narkanda circuit; Rs 3.80 crore for Sundernagar circuit and Rs 3.24 for Jubbal, Rohru circuit said the chief minister. An amount of Rs 56 crore has been proposed to the central ministry for Kullu and Sirmaur districts, he added.

For starting heli-taxis services, Dhumal – w ho is also the tourism minister said, a single bid by a private party had to be dropped and the tenders floated for the purpose had to be cancelled. An alternate model was being explored where all players in the field could be allowed to ply heli-taxis at various places, for which obtaining necessary clearances from director general of civil aviation was mandatory, he said. To improve accessibility to remote but scenic valleys or spots, plans were afoot to develop additional 12 helipads.

The adventure sport of heli-skiing was being conducted in Manali and was open from 6th March till 27th March, he said. A 30 year agreement for the high end sport was signed in December, 2006. However because of less snow, it failed to take off in 2007 and 2008, said Dhumal.

Photo by: Rahul Dhiman

Shimla:

Met director Manmohan Singh said that a western disturbance is going to affect the state, adjoining western Himalayan region and the plains.

Under influence of the disturbance, rain and snowfall is likely to occur at a few place over the next 48 hours said Singh.

While the maximum temperature is likely to drop by 2 to 3 degree Celsius during the period, the minimum temperatures would fall by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius, he added.

The disturbance would weaken between 5th and 6th March leading to mainly dry weather but would revive on 7th and 8th March, said the weatherman.

(Photos by Heinrich and Wolfgang Himmel)

Shimla: Dust on the controversy over setting up the country’s first Himalayan Ski Village (HSV) around hills of Manali is yet to settle, for the promoters are contesting the government cancellation notice saying that it is totally in error and in continuation of a politically motivated charade.

At the same time highly placed government sources revealed that the HSV Company had replied to the project termination notice that was served on them following a cabinet decision taken last December.

The company reply is said to have been receive on 5th February in which the promoters have countered the government committee’s report findings that valley residents of Manali were opposed to the $ 350 million tourism project. The committee was set up under directions of the High Court to re-consider the Ski Village project.

Contrary to the committee’s findings, sources reveal, HSV in its reply has stated that whereas the tourism venture had employment potential for thousands, only a few people were opposed to it.

Claiming the HSV project was being made a victim to local politics, John Sims, MD of HSV when contacted stated, “while the same government floats numerous tenders without any public input, the show cause notice served on us is totally in error and a continuation of the politically motivated charade.”

He went onto add that the international image of Himachal as an investment friendly state was losing out and good employment opportunities are lost.

On the other hand the high level committee’s report findings (a copy is with My Himachal News) hold that the government “has the right to forfeit the bank guarantee and to terminate the IA (Implementation Agreement) and if feel appropriate, invite global tenders for the project.”

HSV promoters which include Sims and Alfred Ford, a family member of famed owners of Ford Motor Company, have deposited Rs 75 lakhs, of which Rs 25 lakhs is earnest money and Rs 50 lakhs towards Destination Himachal Fund, after signing the MoU and IA for the project.

The report concludes that the Detailed Project Report for the project was incomplete as it did not include an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) which the company was bound to obtain before any lease of government or forest land could be made.

For undertaking an EIA, a public hearing for or against the project was essential, which was not done. The report records that at a public hearing conducted by the committee on the proposed project site on 6th June, 2009 found that the “local people openly rejected this project.”

The Ski Village concept plan proposed by Alfred Ford, chairman HSV, on 19th March, 2004 was given a nod by the state on 9th December, 2005 and an IA was signed on 5th June, 2006. The detailed project report submitted on 3rd March. 2007 laid out a plan to construct 170 seven star rooms, 1000 four star rooms and 100 chalets on 93.1 hectares of land, of which 16.3 hectares was to be on government or forest lands near Palchan village of Manali.The project was touted to be the country’s largest tourism FDI proposal, which expected to attract about $ 350 million of investments.

“A team of ADB executives are scheduled to visit the state by end of the month for final negotiation of the Rs 350 crore term loans,” sources in the tourism department disclosed. ‘The funds are to used for improving tourism related infrastructure, eco-tourism, garbage disposal systems, community development, adventure tourism and other related sectors,” he said.

A government spokesman said that to harness tourism potential, a 20 year master plan was being prepared for integrated development. Hotel units with over Rs 50 crore investments were being granted clearances by single window authority.

Other than the ADB loan, for developing the Una-Hamirpur-Bilaspur circuit an Rs 7.60 Cr was to be spent, for the Shimla-Theog-Narkanda circuit an amount of Rs 7.15 Cr and for an offbeat tourist circuit Rs 7.50 crore was to be spent, said the official.

In and around Solan Rs 4.20 Cr was being spend to spruce up tourism, in Hamirpur Rs 6 Cr, on the golfing destination of Naldehra Rs 2.69 Cr, on the para-gliding destination of Jogindernagar-Bir-Billing Rs 4.28 Cr, on Chail Rs 4.80 crore, on Sundernagar Rs 4.75 crore and in and around Jubbal-Kotkhai Rs 4.05 Cr would be spent for improving tourism infrastructure, said the government spokesman.

Bar headed Geese at PDL, photo by BS Rana

Shimla: This news will surely bring a smile on the faces of Birding aficionados and a chance to participate in the Annual Waterfowl Count at the Pong Dam Lake Bird Sanctuary.

Built in 1960, the Pong Dam reservoir is the only place in the country after the Bharatpur Sanctuary where the red-necked grebe descends every year. The size of the Pong dam lake and its situation in the extreme northwest of the northern plains makes it a suitable habitat for migratory birds entering the plains of India from Central Asia. Over 220 bird species belonging to 54 families have been recorded.

The Himachal Pradesh Forest Department in association with the Bombay Natural History Society and the WWF-India have sent open invitation to all bird watchers to participate in Annual bird count on 15th, 16th, and 17th January, 2010.

Bird Watchers at PDL, photo by Sanjeeva Pandey

Those interested to participate can email Chief Conservator of Forests,  Sanjeeva Pandey, on pandey.sanjeeva@gmail.com

So, what are you all waiting for just pick up your pair of binocular, camera, bird book, note book and other important things which you’ll need on the Annual Bird Count.

Organisers will be providing lodging and boarding facility to all participants.

About the Pong Dam Lake Bird Sanctuary

Pong is recently created WATER Storage reservoir on the Beas river in the low foothills of Himalaya on the northern edge of Indo Gangetic plain.The Dhauldhar mountian range forms a backdrop to the lake.The size of the Pongdam lake and its situation in the extreme northwest of the northern plains makes it a suitable habitat for migratory birds entering the plains of India from Central Asia.Over 220 bird species belonging to 54 families have been recorded.

Cormorants and gulls, photo by Sanjeeva Pandey

Pong Dam reservoir is 115 km from Dharamsala. Nestled in the sylvan surroundings of the Kangra valley, the sprawling Pong Dam wetland has emerged as a major habitat for migratory birds in the country as also an attraction for bird watchers.

Wetland popularly known as Ramsar site has been recognized Internationally as one of the finest and largest manmade wetlands of North India situated in the Dhauladhar mountain ranges of Himachal Pradesh. Known as an outstanding town of paradise for birds watchers, the wetland has rich bio-diversity with meager forests round the Pong Dam Wetland having several tree species which serve as edible fruits for the migratory birds. Keeping in view the natural beauty of the wetland, the area has been developed as national wetland and has been included in the list of internationally known wetlands.

Built in 1960, the Pong Dam reservoir is the only place in the country after the Bharatpur Sanctuary where the red-necked grebe descends every year.

Similarly, though seashore species, the arrival of gulls on this lake also make the Pong Dam an exception.

Bar headed Geese photo by SP Dhiman

It may be recalled that it was in 1920 when a British police officer counted as many as 27 bird species in this region of Kangra district. Subsequently, it was designated as a protected area.

The water body occupies an area of at least 18,000 hectares and extends up to 30,000 hectares at the peak monsoon. An area of about 20,000 hectares within the radius of 5 km has been notified as the buffer zone.

Paisa Wasool for tourists in Shimla

Shimla: Much awaited snowfall has brought a smile of satisfaction on the faces of the tourists who spent to holiday in the hills of Shimla with a hope to see snow as main attraction. Outskirts of Shimla, Kufri and Narkanda, have received snowfall and tourists were seen fully enjoying themselves in the snow.

Though it did not snow in Shimla city itself but cold waves kept blowing to shudder people’s spin. Shimla experienced partly cloudy sky and recorded maximum temperature of 11.7˚C and minimum temperature of 2.1˚C.

Higher reaches of Lahaul & Spiti received heavy snowfall of 25.4 cm whereas Keylong recorded lowest temperature of -7.4˚C and Mandi recorded highest temperature of 19.4˚C in Himachal Pradesh.

Dry weather is expected in the coming 24 hours. May be it rains or snow in the higher ranges of the State, as reported by Met. Deptartment.

Photos by Amit Kanwar

Shimla: Managing uncontrolled crowds on New Year’s Eve has led the security officials to do away with organized programs for the upcoming bash in the heart of the city on The Ridge, even as hotels report a full house and have arranged an array of programs to usher in the New Year for their guests.

Though a cold wave overhangs the hills station, but weather station in charge Manmohan Singh rules out any chances of snow around the turn of the year. “The forecast for the next three days does not indicate any snowfall,” he said.

The high and low temperatures for the day were 12.6 and 4 degree Celsius. Chilly winds did have most visitors out in heavy woolens. “In the last two decades it snowed only in 1990, 1995 and 2002 for New Year’s eve,’ said Singh

Tourism officer Surinder Justa said “hotels are fully booked from 30th December to 1st January and one would be lucky to find accommodation close to the city.”

Cultural programs to entertain tourists, which included local dances and musical evenings, were being organized on The Ridge for nearly 10 years now. Normally there are over 50000 visitors out celebrating arrival of the new year in Shimla each year,” he said.

In and around Shimla there are about 300 hotels which have a bed capacity of about 9000 beds. Besides that there are thousands of house owners who only visit the city during summer or around this time of the year, said the tourist officer.

However hotel owners say that compared to last year tourist traffic for the festive week has been impacted. “Despite a long Christmas weekend there were fewer tourists this year,” says hotel owner Vinyak Jisthu. For new years we are fully booked, he added.

Police chief, RM Sharma said “for security reasons cultural programs have been done away with for 31st December evening as it not only becomes difficult to control crowds but if there is any emergency it would be hard to manage.”

Disappointed on learning that the cultural events were taken off the planned festivities agenda for the all important evening, Meena Thakur, a university student resident said, “Its only around this time that there is some night life in the city before it braces to face the winter evenings ahead. Cutting out the cultural activities would certainly disappoint many, she added.

Talking about the security arrangements Sharma said that extra police had been deployed around the city and 5 Naka points had been opened where checking of vehicles would be done. “Anybody carrying a unlicensed weapon, it would be seized and so would unauthorized liquor bottles,” he said.

Considering parking shortages, the administration would permit parking of vehicles wherever space was available on New Year’s Eve, said the police chief adding that no tickets would be booked on that evening unless undue hindrance is caused to traffic flow. Special parking lots have been opened up for accommodating the increased number of outstation vehicles for the week, he added.

Shimla

Officials of industry department disclosed that two new cement plants would increase the annual cement production in the state from 4.5 million tons to 8.5 million tons. “What is worrying is the carrying capacity of road,” he confessed.

Both the plants, one as part of expansion by one large existing cement unit and the other by an new entrant, are said to be of 2 million tons capacity each but the officials say that normally the productivity in these plants exceeds installed capacity by 15 to 30 percent.

Raj Kishan Mahant, who operates a hotel in Manali said, “Such large heavy vehicle movement on the highway will turn the road into a death trap that could permanently damage the scenic value of Kullu valley.”

Traffic on the highway to Manali is already in chaos, with just two large cement plants operating at Dharlaghat and Barmana in Satluj and Beas valley. What will happen to tourism, when the new Baga Balagh and the other plant in Dharlaghat begin production one can only gauge, says Mahant.

Guman Singh of Himalayan Abhiyan Nithi, an NGO adds, “Not just these plants, there are two more cement unit proposed at Alsindi and Sundernagar.”

If all this traffic is to move on a highway used by the common man, where is the road for our use, he asks? Tourism, something which the state counts as its USP, will be dead, he added.

Industry minister Kishan Kapoor holds that development does have a cost. “We are stressing upon the cement companies to develop an alternate road for transporting cement and its by-products.”

He said that the central government was discriminating against Himachal in expanding the rail network. “Cement will be manufactured where limestone mines are located but despite the dire need the state has been expressing to develop a rail line for transporting it from the Beas and Satluj valley, the railway ministry does not pay any heed to the demand,” said Kapoor.

“Land remains a major constraint here,” says Rajneesh Kumar, director urban development. “We are making progress and the progress is slow,” he added.

Sources revealed that to ease traffic congestion, work on the three of four tunnels that were proposed to cut through the hill connecting the south side with the north and one to ease the traffic flow to Shimla East (Chota Shimla) where the government headquarters are located, in three years have no gone beyond the survey and investigation stage.

Estimated to cost hundreds of crores and considering the rule of proportionality in size and city population under which funds thorough JNNRUM are devolved, it would be very difficult to secure funding for these projects, said an engineer who is privy to the project proposal. For a city development plan, cumulative proposal worth Rs 3900 crore were for funding under the program.

Rajneesh said, “HIMUDA (Himachal Urban Development Authority) is the nodal agency under the program and work on one tunnel near Auckland House is in advanced stages of construction.”

Housing projects for the urban poor have been delayed because of non-availability of land, he said. While an amount of Rs 24 crore for Ashiana I was being spent for constructing housing for urban poor in Shimla, land was yet to be identified for Ashiana II project, he added.

Sources disclosed that a Rs 16 crore waste disposal plant for Shimla stood approved, land has been identified but yet the project had failed to get off the ground. “There is resistance to the plant by people living in the vicinity,” says the director.

The city has wasted an opportunity to improve its infrastructure, says Shirinivas Joshi, a retired IAS officer and an old time resident. Other than some buses under purchased under JNNRUM plying, there is nothing visible.

The small Auckland tunnel has not become functional in two years, a proposed large parking near IGMC hospital is nowhere to be seen and the garbage system of Shimla still needs a proper disposal system, said Joshi.

A total of 63 cities, including Shimla were selected as mission cities when the program was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006.

Photos by Amit Kanwar

Directed by National Award winning filmmaker Vivek Mohan, the films theme revolves around a simple question with larger connotations that any winter resident of the city holds dear, “Whether there will be a white Christmas or not?”

With scientists and environmentalists holding out that global warming impacted by climate change would have the most profound impact in northern India, the films theme leaves one wondering when this hill city will have snow again for Christmas as it has not been so for the last 19 years.

Old timers hold fond memories of the regular date winter kept with first snowflakes gliding through a cold day on Christmas, to give the colonial town a day by the fireside wondering about the mystery behind the natural phenomenon.

The film has also been donated to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, in 2008r for the Himachal Government to spread the message in educational institutions.

The Mumbai based filmmaker belongs to Shimla and was awarded National Award for his first film ‘Malana’ in year 1999.

The film has traveled to various National and International film festivals. The June 2003 premiere at Mumbai was attended by Noble Laureate Dr. R.K.Pachauri, Director of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and film personality Anupam Kher, along with other invitees.

Three months later Dr. R.K. Pachauri held a special screening of the film at New Delhi’s prestigious India Habitat Centre, where TERI is based.

Kullu: The Forest Department is becoming proactive in its ecotourism training especially in the Great Himalayan National Park. A 10 day first aid cum Wilderness Emergency Rescue course sponsored by the Great Himalayan National Park began on the 5th of December 2009. It consisted of 20 persons belonging to the Wildlife and Forest department, Ecotourism members of the Society for Biodiversity Tourism and Community Advancement (BTCA) and staff of Sunshine Himalayan Adventures (SHA). The course is being overlooked by Jiteder Lal Gupta and members of the Kullu Medical center.

This emergency course was designed by Dr. J L Gupta ( head of Kullu Medical Center) and Mr. Ankit Sood ( Ecotourism Consultant GHNP) seeing various problems that may arise in trekking in the GHNP. The syllabus of the Wilderness Emergency Course covers everything from gradients, snow blindness, acute mountain sickness, first aid, surgical management, camp hygiene, water related diseases and their prevention, snake and animal bites, bandage, Splint Usage Dressing of wounds, general medication, first aid kits, cleanliness, Mountain rescue to CPR and Mountaineering Rescue. The training is done with practical sessions of theoretical classes.

Use of drama and actual scenario training along with audio visual aids including LCD projector, first hand interaction with foreigners and site visits to local hospitals is makes the course intensive. The first aid course uses theoretical sessions in first half, practical after lunch and evening sessions taken by foreign volunteers belonging to the Kullu Project.

Nagesh Verma, director health confirmed another death from Swine flu at IGMC medical college and hospital today. He said “in all six Himachal residents have died from Swine flu, four within the state and two out of the state.” The fifty plus man was admitted on Tuesday morning and by night he had died, said Verma.

Monitoring the situation Vinod Mehta, state surveillance officer said, “so far 22 HIN1 positive cases have been detected of which 6 have succumbed to the virus.” Among those who have succumbed to the disease he counted two victims each in Solan, Kangra and Shimla.

As far the mapping goes, the cases reported include 2 from Bilaspur and Kangra, one each from Kullu and Mandi, 9 from Solan and 7 from Shimla, said Mehta.

Movement of people along border areas and cold conditions are spreading the disease into areas where it was not reported earlier, said the health director.

Over a video conference, all district health officials have been asked to gear up their rapid response teams, asked to procure ventilators and take all precautions for tackling any outbreak, he added.

The dreaded flu is believed to spread more in cold conditions and pregnant ladies, children and people over 60 years are considered among high risk categories.

Impact of the disease on travel industry is being felt as an query with Himachal tourism revealed that though there had not been many cancellations but the overall bookings were definitely lower than last year.

The state government has asked the health department to ensure that all the hoteliers display the Swine Flu Toll Free Number 18001808004 in their hotels.

“We have taken necessary precautions,” says Ajit Butail, a leading hotelier adding that the do and don’ts put out by the health authorities for the hospitality sector are being given adhered to.

The New Year fever is catching on and it’s a question of social responsibility over economic considerations. The health officials do assure us that necessary testing and treatment centers have been set up and they are prepared to tackle any eventuality, said Butail.

The Christmas-New Year week is the peak of the winter tourism season for most hill stations where rooms normally are not available even for a premium.

Photo’s by Amit Kanwar

John Sims, who heads the consortium and is managing director of HSV said, “After so many ministers came to London and USA proclaiming India to be friendly to FDI, we came with sincere intentions to participate.”

“After following the procedures threadbare we have got caught in the political rivalry between two political parties and now our investments are in peril. It is a sad day for the unemployed and Foreign Direct Investment in India,” he said. However, we will continue to press our case, he added.

On the other hand the state government holds that despite providing HSV an opportunity for submitting an environment impact assessment report more than once, the promoters had failed to do so.

After the cabinet decided to serve notice on Friday, highly placed sources disclosed, that Sims and Aflred Ford, a grandson of Ford Motors Co founder Henry who is one of the HSV directors, met chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to present their side of the case.

One official privy to the matter said “they were told that the show cause notice was issued on the basis of a committee report that was headed by principal secretary tourism. The committee that even did hold a public hearing has reported about opposition from local people for the project and has also pointed out other lapses,” he added.

The project ran into trouble right at the start when John Sims with his long term associate Alfred Ford, in March 2004 proposed to set up a world class ski resort in the higher altitudes of Manali that would even have facilities for hosting a winter Olympics.

In principal approved by the then congress government headed by Virbhadra Singh and an implementation agreement was signed but was opposed by BJP, then in the opposition who termed it a sell out.

Two public interest litigations opposing the project were filed in quick succession and a congregation of local devtas of Kullu valley through their oracles decreed against the project, yet the promoters pressed ahead recruiting local ski instructors and training them in Finland.

With BJP winning the 2007 elections, the new government headed by PK Dhumal decided to review the project and let the High Court know in April 2008 that a high level committee had been set up for the purpose.

Proposed to be set up over an area of 116 acres at over 14,000 feet altitude with an investment of $300 million the village was envisaged to construct a 700 room five star hotel, 300 Swiss-style chalets, 6 Km gondola, a large convention centre, a local market and even had mooted a private airport for easy accessibility.

With reports surfacing that the largest FDI project in tourism was actually an attempt to circumvent the law, for the real intent was allegedly real estate, the enforcement directorate is also reported to have initiated investigations regarding funding of the project.

Presided over by chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal the cabinet also decided to impose a penalty of Rs 280,69,97,974 on the promoters of Brakel Corporation, which has been equated with the up-front premium paid and interest thereon after the government at an earlier meet decided to cancel allocation of 960 MW Jangi-Thopan-Powari project for misrepresentation of facts.

It was decided to re-advertise the power project of Sumta (104 MW), Rashil (102 MW), Tandi (104 MW), Sumte Kothang (130 MW) and Patam (60 MW) and invite fresh bids.

The cabinet approved setting up of Himachal Pradesh Technical University at Hamirpur and agreed in principle to grant loan for starting the institution.

It was decided to continue with the market intervention scheme for fruit growers and approved procurement of B and C grade citrus fruits of Kinnow, Malta, Sangtra at Rs. 5.85 per kg and Rs. 5.25 per kg. respectively and Galgal fruit at Rs. 4.15 per kg. The Scheme will be enforce from December 4, 2009 to February 15, 2010.

It decided to bring about a legislation in the forthcoming session under Himachal Pradesh Hindu Religious Institution and Charitable Endowment Act, 1984, to dispose off gold and silver donated by devotees in the notified religious shrines of the state.

HP State Electricity Board was authorized to implement the revised pay scales to its employees from 1st January, 2006.
Approval was given for launching the centrally sponsored Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan program for classes from 9th to 12th standard.

Monthly remunerations for 66 contractual medical officers was enhanced from Rs 16,000 to Rs 26,250 for general duty doctors and from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 for specialists. The decision would also benefit 279 medical officers appointed under Rogi Kalyan Samitis, a cabinet spokesman said.

At present, the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) comprises 750 sq km. It is naturally protected on the northern, eastern, and southern boundaries by areas under permanent snow or by impassable ridges. In addition, there are two wildlife sanctuaries adjacent to the Park: Sainj (90 sq.km.) and Tirthan (61 sq.km.). The total area under the National Park administration is 1,171 sq. km. The western boundary of the Park has historically supported communities that have had economic dependence on the designated area of the Park. Realizing the environmental pressures these villages would exert on the Park’s biodiversity, an area of over 250 square kilometers was set up as buffer zone. This Ecozone contains 160 small villages with a population of about 19,000 people. Almost 90% of the Ecozone is forest habitat which, when properly managed is leading to income generation of the locals without harming the environment. One such initiative is the community based ecotourism being practiced in the GHNP.

Community Based Ecotourism – Lessons 2005-2010

GHNP is also one of the major sites for studying community based ecotourism enterprise in the Western Himalayas. For over five years a private ecotourism company styled Sunshine Himalayan Adventures have been advocating and practicing ecotourism initiative along with a local NGO called BTCA (Society for Biodiversity Tourism & Community advancement). This initiative has increased awareness about the park and specifically ecotourism among ecozone residents themselves or those living near the zone providing balance in educating these important stakeholders realizing that the local community is going to be providing tourism services.

Amongst other initiatives are increasing public awareness of the GHNP and its ecozone among potential visitors and running programs which actually promote visitation to the ecozone or park structured carefully to avoid creating unrealistic expectations about the type of experience, available infrastructure and standards; care has been taken to develop the ecotourism “product” before marketing it.

We also work with the park authorities in matters like poaching, wildlife monitoring and improving roads and trails or other infrastructure , though realizing its a horse vs. cart problem: tourists must begin coming before they can express demand for better access and infrastructure. In my experience (unless a carefully designed large capital improvement program is initiated with national or international funding) this process will only slowly unfold, with more and more low- to medium-end tourists and activities eventually proving there is a demand for higher end activities and the infrastructure to support them. The process will go faster if there is effective communication between the park and regional stakeholders who influence capital budget decisions (especially for roads leading to the park).

Sunshine Himalayan Adventures realize that privatization (the role of private enterprise) is a complicated one and sometimes controversial means of stimulating and managing ecotourism in protected areas and buffer zones. In my experience the most successful examples are when there are mutually beneficial partnerships developed between private investors and community members and the relationships are supervised by an NGO to assure that neither partner takes advantage of the other. Since the protected area is generally providing the physical tourist attractions, the park must also be directly involved to assure that commercialization does not damage those resources.

NEED FOR AN ECOTOURISM AUTORITY

We have realized that at least in early stages these private/community partnerships will need protection from independent unsupervised operators such as low-qualified guides or food and accommodation services which do not favor local community members as labor. We are trying to develop an Ecotourism Authority where the “authority” of this enterprise has to be clear to prevent such independent operators from entering the market. In later stages the Authority may act to establish standards for independent tour operators, guides and other service providers in order to maintain a certain level of service.

This establishment of an Ecotourism Society (better called Ecotourism Authority) with real decision-making authority and the ability to shorten implementation time and will be carefully designed with input from all the relevant stakeholders, including the Private operators such as Sunshine Himalayan Adventures , BTCA and the newly-formed tourism and home stay operators association called STDA( Seraj Tourism Development Association).

One is aware that it will be a huge challenge to avoid pressures to allow or even encourage large scale commercial tourism development especially in the ecozone. But there are dozens of examples in the world and even close by in northern India, (Corbett National Park, Ranthambore National Park) where such commercialization has failed to be a wise long term strategy because 1) it does not continue to be profitable; 2) it destroys the attractiveness of the area which prompted its commercialization; and 3) it loses essential support because it has betrayed original commitments to bring long term benefits to local communities.

Guided by zeal to create new models of ecotourism SHA & BTCA have a unique and exclusive relationship under the guidance of the park management. Our activities include promoting visits of friends from foreign lands to create a better understanding of the Western Himalayas, its people, religions and culture. The ecotourism program continues developing a paradigm wherein local villagers actually benefit from having their ancestral lands turned into a wilderness preserve. Our regular trainings with the local youths in various spheres of eco-tourism and trekking is empowering them to keep the wild nature preserved for posterity. This plan of simple elegance and sweeping implications requires patience and support, not only from the Government but civil society at large.

Government had come with the bright idea of starting tourism as a regular subject in 15 district headquarters colleges of Himachal Pradesh seeing the success of the same in Government Degree College Kullu and Dharamsala. The posts were advertised but taken back due to pressures from the private lobby who run these so called tourism institutes. Even after the successful run of tourism degree courses for over 10 years producing quality professionals most of them who stay in Himachal itself, the government has turned a blind eye towards the plea of regularizing posts for lecturers in Kullu and Dharamsala or even advertising the same. . It’s important for the policy makers to see that Education and culture are intimately intertwined, in as much as cultural patterns of a society shape its educational system. It is strange that for a state like Himachal or for that matter the whole of India training and education had for long been synonyms. For this reason most of Indian curricula leans heavily on theories and concepts, sparing lesser scope for ‘industrial training’. In this context, tourism education / training stand out as a classic example in the ensuing conflict between conventional ideology of education and the modern interpretation of vocational training. The inadequate grasp on the tourism ‘phenomenon’ (discipline) and the near absence of tourism ‘industry’ (vocation) has beguiled the promise of tourism studies programmes in India.

Himachal would become one of the first states by following a policy of producing quality tourism professionals by integrating tourism as a subject with other mainstream subjects. An effort towards this has already started by creating 15 posts for tourism lecturers in the college cadre. Tourism education in Himachal is dependent on how serious the leadership of Himachal envisages the future of tourism in the state and takes effective steps in its longevity.

Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said that Indian culture had richest tradition which had shown the path of peace, moral values and harmony to the whole world. She praised SAARC for its commendable effort in spreading the message of religious and communal harmony.

The Governor said that Sufi music spoke of Indian culture in true sense and the performance by the renowned Sufi singer like Ustad Sardar Ali Qadir during the festival along-with other artists was a sincere effort to highlight the exquisiteness of Indian culture.

She also announced Rs. 20,000 to the artists for the promotion of cultural activities. Senior functionaries of SAARC Writers & Literary Foundation, Delhi and H.P Language and Culture Department were present on the occasion.

THE GREAT HIMALAYAN NATIONAL PARK September, 28, 2009.

The members of the Sunshine –BTCA Adventure team yesterday managed to rescue a cub of a Himalayan black bear from the clutches of the mighty Tirthan. Aditya Sood (Panki) ,the group leader while trekking to Rolla heard the cries of a small cub and began tracing it till he reached a spot where the Himalayan Black Bear was caught trying to cross the river. Learning from the local folklores , he knew that the mother would be around and waited patiently for 1 hour. When nothing happened , he dived into the river alone to push the black bear to safety. While this was happening he heard two gun fires which were most probably the villagers of Kharongcha after the mother.

Later upon inquiry he found out that the villagers have been after the mother and cub for several days and have most probably killed the mother as the mother Bear never leaves its cub unescorted. There is a substance called “pith” which is derived out of the black bear sold at very high costs which makes killing of the black bear a booty for the poor villagers.

For us at Sunshine Himalayan Adventures it’s sad to see that even efforts of giving livelihood by the Forest department still has not motivated the villagers enough to stop poaching. This is principally due to the following factors:

1. Absence of Forest Staff from the field :

We have never found a forest guard ever giving his duty at his beat in the GHNP. The field staff only activates upon special order or if some official of the Forest department is on a visit

2. Lack to involve major stakeholders :

From all the programs to support BTCA or a previous SAHARA the immediate villages of the ecozone like
Kharongcha, , Daran, Mashiyaar , Dingcha (Tirthan Valley) Shakti, Maraur ,Lapah, ( Sainj) Kundar, Majhan ( Jiwanal) have been kept out in any income generation activity probably due to inaccessibility.

One of the solution lies with the Ecotourism initiative which is one of the most successful income generation ventures distributing about 3.5 lakh in salary ( 2009) , we are trying to get more and more men from the above villages so that an awareness is spread. However due to the terrain and the nature of activity in the park coupled with few tourists, its difficult to provide regular employment to our team which is over 40 people. This year SHA‐BTCA team has already shown its strength in the Tragopan kill case by lodging the first ever FIR in the Kullu police station along with the FD, helped put out forest fires and now helped this cub in despair.

And, on 27th Sept. the World Tourism Day will be celebrated and twelfth(12th) national quiz themed “Celebrating Diversity” will be organised.

Shimla: The event that saw participants riding 18 km on a mix of roads and walking tracks around Mashobra and Kufri was organised by ‘BSA Adventure Hills’ and supported by a local adventure club ‘Team Avalanche’ to inspire people to take to Mountain Cycling in Shimla.

34 participants joined the ride which started from Hotel Woodpark in Dhalli. Lunch and cycles for the ride were provided free of cost by ‘BSA Adventure Hills’. The first part was an uphill track that led to near the ‘Retreat’, the summer residence of the President of India. The track then dipped down to Mashobra from where it followed the Mashobra – Bekhalty road to near Dak Bangla. A torturous 2 km uphill then led the riders to Kufri where everyone stopped for tea and biscuits before the final descent to Hotel Woodpark via Chharabra.

The young children from Stokes Memorial Public School displayed exemplary spirit by completing the entire grueling route without assistance, even at places where the steepness of the terrain forced them to dismount and push their bikes uphill.

Asked midway if they wanted to stop cycling and sit in the car, they said in unison, “No, we are doing it.”

The youngest participant, four year old Udvansh who was riding pillion behind his father, also got into the spirit of things and helped push the bike up the entire 2 km uphill to Kufri. “I want my own cycle next time,” was his constant refrain.

Apart from the fun element some of them came for the thrill of a challenge. Like businessman Saurabh Goyal who had brought his entire team of staff members. “I had made my mind to cycle every inch of the way. Even if it meant stopping a hundred times on the ascents,” said Saurabh.

For some, cycling is about keeping good health and building stamina. According to Rakesh Verma, the lead cyclist in the event, “Cycling is good for health and fun too. I have stopped using my motorcycle since I discovered the joys of cycling and I want more such events to be organized so that everyone can experience it and get hooked.”

Sachin Despande, who had come all the way from Delhi to join in the ride, was thrilled by the experience. “I have done

a fair amount of cycling but had never tried mountain biking on narrow singletrack paths. I’ll surely be back for more”, said Sachin.

Sandhya Tyagi, the representative of ‘BSA Adventure Hills’ informed that the company planned to hold more such events in the future to popularize cycling in the country. “This was the second cycling promotion event that we have organized in Himachal, the first being a Manali – Solang ride in end June. The whole idea is to promote carbon neutral tourism and to create an awareness about the advantages and joys of riding cycles. People have the wrong notion that cycling is not possible in the mountains due to the ascents and descents and we aim to dispel the notion,” she stated.

Shimla: Importance of destination branding and its implications affecting tourist flows, especially in times of information deluge about epidemics, terrorism and natural calamities was what attracted the attention of educators and planners at two day conference here.

Conducted by Himachal Pradesh Univeristy’s Institute of vocational (tourism) studies the conference came up with the suggestion that unforeseen circumstances are encouraging destinations to be well prepared with a strong brand value, which can withstand adversities of external circumstances and remain attractive for tourists.

The current trend is to market ‘unique selling proposition’ of a destination for providing differentiation amongst competitors but emphasis was laid upon branding, re-branding and creation of innovative marketing campaigns to keep a destination ahead of others, said a university spokesman.

Himachal needs to up branding

Delegates pointed out the unlike Kerala with its backwater country image or highway tourism of Haryana, Himachal lagged in branding.

Though Himachal abounds with natural, cultural and recreational attraction sites but the marketing strategy has not been able to build an unique image that can holistically portray the state.

Wrapped in a Himalayan landscape, the exotic mountains itself was an unique natural asset upon which the state could brand itself, was one of the suggestions that the conference came up with.

Though the state was considered a safe destination but hygiene and cleanliness at major tourist places was declining and if steps were taken to improve them through proper planning regulations by encouraging environmentally sustainable activity, its attraction for tourists could increase.

Other than the natural assets, adventure, health and medical tourism hold tremendous potential , was another suggestion that emerged at the deliberations.

Mountain sports including, trekking, mountaineering, mountain biking, skiing, golf, aero sports and water sports, did exist on a small scale but scaling up could boost tourism tremendously.

Over 100 delegates from places like, Kurukshetra, Rohtak, Chandigarh, Palwal, Gaziabad, Noida, Agra, Jhansi, Gwalior, Burdwan, Durgapur, Kerela, Delhi, Manipal and others participated in the conference, the spokesman said.

File photo by Payson Stevens.

Here are few excerpts from my talk with him and about his recent wins:

In late 80s I tried to find someone to teach me hang gliding but failed to find anyone in India.

After flying gliders for 2 years at Pinjore I became aware that learning paragliding was possible in India and got hooked to this wonderful sport. A year later I had given up my partnership in a Fibre glass fabrication firm and took up a job with a adventure travel company to enable me to stay in mountains and fly.

I tried to do my first paragliding competition in 2000 in Nepal but had an accident just before the event and broke my shoulder. While I was recovering I came to realise that I need to do this properly and formalise my training. I wrote to many paragliding schools in English speaking coutries and was lucky to get offer of help from a few.

I went to England in 2001 and in 5 month was able to not only get certification as pilot but also managed to finish my instructor certification mainly thanks to my education (M.Sc Physics, which made it very easy for me to understand concepts and science involved).

I did my first international competition in India itself, a pre world cup in Himachal in 2002, where I was 2nd among Indian pilots,  thus enabling me to earn points to do more internationalcompetitions. Since then I did as many international competitions as I could afford (never having any sponsor or government support).

Initially I participated with intermediate level equipment, and slowly upgared to sports level gliders. Only in 2007 I baught a used competition glider and proper competition harness and flew in open class. This year I was able to buy my first ever new, up to date competition glider and afforded to do 7 competitions in this year. Enabling me to get in competition fitness and score podium position in last three competitions.

1. Turkish Pre World cup : 2nd position ( beating European world cup champion)
2. Kazakhstan open : 1st beating best of Russian , Kazakhstan and Krigistan pilots
3. CIS open: 3rd place

I am happy I ranked well in a row and not just in one event as it showed I am capable of consistently finishing in good position. Also it proved the claim I always made, namely that I can perform well given right equipment and chance to do 5-6 competitions in a season.

I hope I will be able to continue performing well in future too and for that be able to earn enough to afford it.

About these events:

Pre world cup Turkey: This event was held at Byramoren in Turkey about 400km for Istanbul and about 120 from Ankara. It is a valley in middle of a platue, made by a river gorge. Very beutiful site that unfolds itself as you go over the platue lips into the valley. For flying it was a complex site as it involved flying in this valley, with mountain like conditions and then crossing over the lip to fly over the platue in flat land like conditions.

Right from the start  I focussed on just competing with my own self and finish each task as fast as I can but not pushed by anyone. I had lot of competition flying already and had picked up the confidence that I can fly as well as most good pilots and it was question of using right strategy and pacing. Luckily each passing task proved my decision and confidence right. On last task top three of us were so close in points that anyone could have won,  was more a question of who makes the mistake. I knew other too were major rivals on European field with Yassen having won European world cup Championship title this year. I knew Yassen will do his best to get first place so let them put pressure on each other and flew just to beat clock. As I expected one of the two made mistake and bombed out paving way to my finish at 2nd place.

This was my first podium finish In an international event so  I was very happy and aglow inside. Turkish people are generous host and treated us very nicely. Speacially after podium finish I got very good treatment and will always remeber these days.

Kazakhstan was slightly easier, I reached there feeling quite confident and managed to get healthy lead in first task itself which I consolidated upon in task and then managed to hold status qua.

CIS open started with change in weather and very weak conditions, bit unfamiliar to me as most my flying is in mountains. Also by this time Russian and Kazakh pilots had formed a strategy of never flying gaggle with me thus slowing me down in weak conditions. Nonetheless I kept lot of pressure and would have again won except for small mistake on second last task. Still I am quite happy to finish on podium.

As I said it was more a question of consistently good performance and not just one victory.

Besides all friends, mentors and competitiors who taught me to fly better and supported me, I would also like to thank Himachal Tourism. If they had not backed out of supporting us with already sanctioned world cup selection tour and world cup next year, I would have been too busy in organising to be able to do the competitions in Kazakhstan.

“Until you feel you need to open your eyes,
you aren’t really feeling anything”

I’m an amateur at this with a simple digital camera in my arsenal. But that has not restricted me from venturing to places and capturing them in frames that appeal to me.Technically limiting they may be but that does not stop me from embracing the natural vibes every now and then to cultivate a sense of expecting more good things from life.

“Life is for good
Don’t make it last,make it worthwhile”

I could not emphasize further the price of what our state possesses. It is beyond treasures and beyond anything any currency could ever buy.

“You stand where others stand beside
But you picture yourself where silence resides”

I have tried compiling the best of my pics in random order from around Himachal in a small video. Places that i have had the privilege to visit and places that still call me back. I haven’t stopped and i don’t plan to until i have recreated Himachal through the lens of my camera and probably found the right words to describe my experiences. Enjoy…

Department sources said that technical bids for the service had been opened and four operators had been shortlisted. Among the companies shortlisted are state owned operator Pawan Hans, a private operator from Chandigarh and another from Mumbai.

Even though there is a huge demand for heli services but despite the government having invited expression of interest earlier also, the concept of air taxi services by helicopter has not got grounded for the last seven years.

Manisha Nanda, secretary tourism, while confirming the government intention to start air taxi services said, “an earlier trial of offering joy rides for tourists using the governments leased helicopter showed that there were many foreigners and high spending takers for it and it was a profitable proposition.”

“We have invited bids for operating heli-taxi services and would only seal a deal after opening of the financial bids of the four operators who have been found fit after assessing their technical bids,” said Nanda.

The proposal intends to set up a booking service, especially to far flung high altitude valleys of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur which hold a lot of tourist value but many are unable get there because of long road journeys.

There is also a demand for helicopter service from Delhi or Chandigarh directly to tourists spots in the state.

We have suggested some routes and have asked the operators interested in starting the service to try and identify routes that could hold commercial value, said Nanda.

Just to develop a helicopter service, the state over the years has been investing in developing helipads and has a network of 57 of them located in practically every important valley. Currently on the government functionaries use them for reaching out to the people.

In winter, when high passes like Rohtang Pass land lock valleys like Lahaul and parts of Chamba, the state uses its leased helicopter or leases one for keeping emergency movements of residents and officials into these areas operational.

Hoteliers are looking forward to have such a service operational soon. Vinayak Jisthu, a hotel owner, said “poor connectivity is one reason why high end tourist avoid Himachal and a heli-taxi service would certainly boost tourism here.”

This article will share a personal perspective around working on these issues where I have been involved as an advisor to GHNP and living in a rural Kullu Valley for part of each year since 2003.

In 2000, Sanjeeva Pandey, the first director of GHNP, invited me to participate in developing strategies for sustainable livelihood activities with local communities. I spent a month trekking in the Park going through two main valleys, the Sainj and Tirthan, following their rivers. Compared to my hiking in America, there were virtually no tourists on the trails. An Ecozone adjacent to GHNP (250 km2) was also set aside as a transition area, as it was the region of traditional village communities with over 14,000 inhabitants.

The Forest Department (FD) wanted to encourage locals to become stakeholders in GHNP and programs were developed. These included helping in the establishment of a local NGO; micro-credit financing for women; training in alternative livelihoods such as working in forest nurseries (cultivating trees, shrubs, medicinal herbs), developing vermicomposting (purchased for FD nurseries); and developing local products for a wider market (rajama/red beans, apricot seed oil).

We began training young village men in trekking skills to develop jobs in ecotourism. Friends from the US and Germany came to GHNP and were very supportive giving constructive feedback so the men could learn their trade. This provided some men with more consistent work and helped develop GHNP-related livelihoods. Friends of GHNP was created to develop the Park’s extensive website as well as educational materials (posters, brochures, GHNP branding, videos). A Kullu tour company, Sunshine Himalayan Adventures, further trained the local men and marketed the Park using the internet.

These activities in the first years of the Park’s opening, helped some locals change their attitudes about GHNP and the value of nature conservation. In 2003 my wife, the writer Kamla K. Kapur, and I decided we wanted to live in India and with the help of Kullu friends we established a life for ourselves near the Park.

I continued working with GHNP and locals, trekking over 1,200 km with Sanjeeva in GHNP. But actually living in the region exposed me to the serious hardships of many poor villagers experienced. It was obvious how difficult it was for them to be concerned about protecting the Park, when getting enough to eat, having sufficient firewood to cook and stay warm, and dealing with a pervasive lack of health care were the immediate and crucial concerns. A big shift occurred when a young pregnant woman from a remote, higher village sadly died from a breach birth near our village. Talking to locals about health care, I discovered that it was not readily available with the exception of a more distant government hospital in Banjar and a small surgery clinic in Jibhi run two weekends a month by Lady Willington Hospital (LWH).

Kamla and I met Drs. Shelia and George Varghese from LWH and we started a health mela program to reach the local villages. In 2006 Avnish Katoch an NRI living in the US, contacted me about starting an NGO to help improve the quality of life and protect the environment of Himachal Pradesh. We set up My Himachal with a small group of NRIs, and it was registered as a non-profit organization in the US and later as an NGO in HP. The Kullu Health Mela project was expanded through the donations of friends in the US and has become an on-going part of MH’s activities. Working with Indian and foreign doctors, especially Drs. Jeph & Kaaren Mathias from New Zealand, data has been collected on child nutrition and malnutrition. Local women were also trained as nutritional workers for their villages. Our surveys have shown high percentages of persistent childhood malnutrition with all the troubling impacts on physical and cognitive development.

My Himachal has expanded its health programs in the past two years to include support for local nature conservation and education. MH has also brought in Indian and foreign student volunteers who have worked on ecotourism development and job creation, including MBA students at the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (Mumbai). We are expanding our network of foreign advisors in national park and community development, and rural economics. We also interact with other environmental NGOs on watershed conservation and ecotourism issues. My Himchal has taken over the responsibility for maintaining the GHNP website and is currently updating it as a prime source of Park information. With the recent notification of GHNP’s placement on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List, there is even more MH focus on support for the Park.

Aware of the enormous impacts of climate change and global warming, MH is gearing up for projects which will use our ground teams to survey and interact with rural communities to better understand their preparedness for all the enormous impacts that will occur in Himalayan regions over the next 5-10 years. These include glacial recession and water availability (for farming irrigation, watermills, hydel projects, etc.), variability in monsoon arrival and intensity, flooding and drought, shifts in the growing ranges of agricultural product (e.g. apples and other important HP fruit), increasing forest fires, and both insect pest and disease vectors moving into warming, higher elevations. Many of these problems have already begun in HP.

The ground teams My Himachal have developed lay the foundation for us to collaborate with villagers, friends, and associates in different areas of HP. This will further our goal to both uplift the people and protect the unique Himalayan environment of this beautiful state.

For more information:

My Himachal: www.myhimachal.com

GHNP: www.greathimalayannationalpark.com

©2009, Payson R. Stevens.

Payson R. Stevens is an American trained in the earth sciences and art. For over 25 years he was involved with working with NASA, NOAA, and the USGS on global change issues. He lives half the year, with his Indian wife, in a remote area of the Kullu Valley, where he paints, writes, and does seva work. More of his artwork can be seen at www.energylandscapes.com

The author and his wife, Kamla K. Kapur (www.kamlakkapur.com)

Taking a small dingy boat used by the Indian Navy we made the best out of this lake. While the rest of the group went rock climbing, I took the boat with the help of umbrellas as sails and explored the amazing blue waters. Amongst my aqua escapades was also to measure the depth of the lake with the help of a stone filled bucket and rock climbing ropes ….an experiment which led to the conclusion that the lake was way deep than we thought.

The Chandertaal lake (320 29’ N, 770 36’ E)  lies 6 kms from Kunzum Pass, which joins the great Himalayan and Peer Panjal ranges surrounded by snow capped peaks and acres of scree reflecting the Chandra Bhaga range in its deep blue waters. A place so beautiful is worshipped by the locals of Lahaul, Spiti and Kullu alike who always end up doing the amazing Parikarama of the 2.5 wide circumference of the lake.

The lake has been carved  out by the forces of  natures as the rock basin has been closed by the scree of rocks . Fed by paraglacial deposits and massive glaciers which surround the lake resulting in  a regular flow of water which  keeps the lake clean though the outflow differs from season to season. Its special value is attributed to high altitude , excessive cold, aridity , low oxygen and an intense radiation. Free from any signs of Eutrophication ( an increase in the concentration of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an extent that increases in the primary productivity of the ecosystem) the lake has an immsely low turbidity.

Flora and Fauna : Chandertal is an important site for migratory bird during summer. Large variety of species is found in the wetland, which includes Snow cock (Tetraogallus himalayensis), Chukor, Black ring stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), Brahmi ducks (Tadorna ferruginea), Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax). A large number of mammals are present in the catchment area of the lake like: Snow Leopard, Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Wolf, Ibex, Blue Sheep/Bharal Pseudois nayaur etc. are the common mammals of the area. In addition, to the mammals and birds, the region abounds in various insects during the summer season. The insect fauna consists of spiders, beetles, wingless grasshopper’s butterflies and bugs. The margins of the lake abound in larvae of mayflies, stoneflies and caddis flies.

The Chandertal Lake supports endangered mammalian species i.e. Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia), Bobak Marmot (Marmota bobak), Royal’s vole (Alticola roylei), Himalayan Ibex (Capra sibirica hemalayanus), Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur) mentioned in IUCN Red List and CITES. Chandertal Lake is of special value for its endemic plant and animal communities.  The wetland had been identified as a wetland of national importance in 2005, due to presence of rare plants, variety of animal species and its role in the maintenance of eco biodiversity of the region.   The flora and fauna have specialized morphological and physiological features to counteract the unfavorable effects of the extreme environmental conditions.

Geology :
Chandertal area is covered by glacial type of soil, which is not fully developed. About 65% of the catchment area is a degraded forest due to glacial action and seasonal grazing by migratory graziers. Herbs and grasses cover rest of 35% of the area. Chandertaal wetland helps the reduction of flood in downstream as water moves into wetland faster than it moves out downstream part of the channel. Wetland also helps in the retention of moisture in the catchments and subsequently in the growth of grasses and herbaceous plants which protect the land against erosion in the summer season.

Tourism Impacts :
During the tourist season a large number of visitors pollute the water quality of the lake by leaving garbage after camping. This adds toxicity to the marine life (Pisciculture) as the camping spot on the alpine meadow at the northern end drains into the lake. The whole Chandertal and its catchment area are grazed heavily by migratory grazers every year. The combined effect of the visitors and herdsmen contribute to increased siltation and organic influx into the lake. Due to the historical and tourism importance of the lake, the construction of a road was undertaken during 1985- 86. But the road construction was stopped in 2004 but not before it has paved the way to pollution and opened doors to play around with this fragile ecosystem.  The whole catchments of the lake are fragile and susceptible to ecological degradation because of the geology and sparse vegetation.  The increased tourism activity has resulted in generation of solid waste and dumping, which would in turn affect the water quality of the lake.

Present situation :

Tourism and grazing pressures are taking a toll on Chandertaals fragile environment After a long halt at the lake I was shocked to see the change in the area. The garbage disposal pits are full and the lake was littered with plastic mainly bottles of drinking water, tin cans left by expeditions, magi packets, gutka and tabaco packets. An absence of sign boards meant that the tourists had no idea about the faunal and floral importance of the place. Moreover a lack of conservational messages meant the lake was wide open to the whims of environmentally unconscious tourist who just excelled in throwing stones in the lake. The lone Shepard who runs a Dhaba was the only resident of the lake providing basic camping accommodation and fresh food for the tourist. The lake has also suffered due to the lack of coordination between the Forest and the tourism department. Half hearted attempts at making a walking trail has resulted in useless digging  dug by the tourism department who were trying to put a stone walking trail around the lake. There have been no attempts to rectify this with extreme weather and wind causing more harm to the banks of the lake. Upon hours of talk with the Shepard who depends on the lake for his bread and butter revealed some shocking statistics.

I also went and met the local Shepard’s who are now worried about being relocated. These nomadic herdsmen pass through the Chandra valley with huge flocks of sheep and goats graze the meadows. The whole Chandertaal and its catchments area are grazed heavily by migratory grazers every year. The combined effect of the visitors and herdsmen does contribute to increased siltation and organic influx into the lake.

One recommends the following:

Dry Pit Toilets and a well managed campsite along with an effective garbage disposal is an immediate need of the hour. Some of the other recommendations that are worthwhile considering are:

Identification and development of an ecotourism camping sites for the tourists. Chandertaal can be promoted by Ecosoc (Ecotourism Society of Himachal Pradesh ) as a prime destination. A campsite should be established near the parking place with water facilities complete with solar lights, solar cookers, dry pit toilets, vermicomposte pits and collection point for non biodegradable stuff used by the tourists. Moreover it can serve as interpretation center running a variety of tours for rock climbing, wildlife and faunal. On the employment front an estimated two to five youths from the losar village can be meaningfully employed as guides, camp providers, cooks etc. The Shepard who has been based here for the last eight years can also have some means of employment here. The revenue generated may be shared by Ecosoc and local people. The local team may also act as a protector of the lake and should have authority to warn and fine people who are caught littering, throwing stones, using soap in the lake, defecating openly, disturbing the ecology and degrading the environment or causing excessive noise. ( all these were seen personally by myself during my three day stay at the lake last weekend).

Installation of prefabricated shelter for Environment Interpretation Center manned by a forest guard or a local from the losar village who could generate his income by charging a visitor fee to the tourists.

Repair of the trekking path has been constructed by the Forest Department  from kunzam pass to the lake especially during the latter half.

Regular water quality monitoring of the wetland and closing it permanently for the tourists if degraded excessively.

Designated areas can be ear marked for bathing and swimming especially for foreigners and Indian pilgrims who like to wipe the dust of the Spiti valley. Usage of soap and other such chemicals should be severely restricted.

Writer is an avid trekker and runs Sunshine Adventure.
The writer is responsible for the authenticity/originality of the content and My Himachal holds no responsibility on this account.

I never knew it would be such a difficult mental struggle to decide and be able to go for a cycling trip alone to the Spiti valley in 2009. The mental struggle was with convincing myself that I could do it, convincing my family that doing it alone was safe and reasonable thing to do and some existentialist worries of middle age. I left Delhi carrying my cycle on a four wheeler for Rampur, telling myself and my family and friends that I will put my cycle on a bus and come back if at any time I want to return.

The doubts linger on for a very long time and vanish only when I hit the road, saddling up at a place called Poari, loading my sleeping bag, some clothes and a mattress on the cycle. I will have to learn how to tie my stuff better during the day stopping many times to ensure that it is in place and does not hinder my pedal movement.

The mental preparation of all the fears and doubts really helps. The moment you are in the pristine landscape of higher Himalayas, away from the routine traffic, just the joy of being where you have so desperately wanted to be on a cycle and dreamt about, lifts your spirits as you move the pedals.  Its worth it you know and the small amount of physical training of doing 30 Km trips daily trips is sufficient.

Cycling on the roads of high Himalayas in Spiti with its inhabited territory and the spectacular landscape of bare mountains, the snow fed Satluj, Spiti and Chandra rivers is different from some other remote corners of India and perhaps Ladakh mountains. In Ladakh, the famous Manali‐Leh route over 3 high passes, I have heard is more or less a busy highway nowadays with traffic and few inhabited settlements on the way.

Cycling  on  the  mountain  roads  is like  trekking,  if  you  have  a  good cycle. I use a “Trek 3700″ cycle with a wide “Bontrager” rear tyre and a narrower  “City  Ride”  front  tyre.  A large  three  litre  Camelback    water bottle is an absolute must in the dry climate  and  was  completely  empty by  the  end  of  the  day.  I  carried  3
extra tubes, a mini hand pump and a  few  wires.  On  an  average  I covered about 50 Kms a day in 4 to 5 hours with two to three hours of rest  added.  Fortunately  I  had  no puncture  on  the  entire  trip,  only some adjustment of the gear system and a drying chain that tends to curl up on the front chain sprocket, that I was able to fix on my own. A back of the envelope map by my friend Mohit served as a guide.

As in a trek in the mountains, the slow cycling pace allows you to observe and listen to the sounds of nature and the stories of the local people you meet on the way and take as many photographs as you want. You are not worried about parking, simply dismount the cycle and take a standing rest, a photograph and a sip of water. Much as we learn about others, this interaction allows us to, if we are honest, to question our own understanding of the world, our assumptions and judgements. Like any other adventure, on the first day of cycling I first explore my mental comfort and physical fitness.

Starting from Poari(on the main road head of Reckong Peo about 150Kms from Simla). The trip had begun with the  first  strapping  of  bags  on  the  cycle  and  a  few  stops  to  adjust  the  setting  of  the  bags  to  your  pedal movements. With the couple of people asking you where you are from and why going alone, one can only shrug ones shoulders as an explanation. I would have certainly liked to have a friend as company but then in middle age you do not have friends like in college days who can come along on short notice.

The advantage of starting from Poari and not from Simla or Narkanda is that one is able to leave behind the high traffic as well as the 3 huge hydroelectricity generation tunnel dams that have been built on Satluj river at Karcham, Naptha‐Jhakri and Sangla. The dams have added about 5000MW of electricity by taming the Satluj river at three points within a 50Kms flow, in the process made a mess of the 50Kms of road. There is dust and debris all over and even driving is not fun. Whether any environmental review was done for 3 dams to be sited so close and the disposal of huge amounts of debris from the tunnels – is questionable. The impact this is having on the ecology and livelihoods of the villages(with sinking land due to tunnelling and depleting water tables) is another concern. The first day of cycling took me 60Kms from Poari to Puh. The road tracking the Satluj river from the left to the right and then again to the left bank. Cut out from the rocks like a cave in some places, the valleys are more open and vegetation still thick and green. An afternoon stop at Jangi for lunch and a nap makes you realise that the sun is very hot in July. The local people tell you that beyond Poari/Sangla you have a more arid cold desert conditions, however they tell that this year has been a very bad monsoon and even the winter snow was  very  poor  in  many  parts  of  Himachal  Pradesh  leading  to  severe  water  crisis  and  apple  and  other horticulture crop failure.

Cycling up to Puh is pleasant and as I gain confidence  that  it  is  possible  to  start cycling  at  6,000ft  and  not  have  to  push the  bike  at  this  altitude.  A  police  check post ahead of Jangi on way to Puh, does not bother about registering a cycle and let me go. Further on, a black luxury car suddenly stops and a young couple kindly stop  and  ask  me  if  I  need  any  help  as  I have dismounted and am taking a picture. When  you  are  alone  people  are  more helpful.  With evening/night  setting  in  I realise  that  the  last  5  Kms  to  Puh  is  a steep ascent that I had not factored in my plans.  Having  started  late  from  Poari  in the morning(I had ferried my cycle from Rampur  to  Poari  by  local  bus  hence starting at 11am), and having had a meal and afternoon rest at Jangi, I have to push hard for the last 5 Kms to reach Puh. On the way I see three labourers from Bihar cutting stones and a “no plastics drive” by local officials to enforce the shopkeepers not to stock plastic bags and to burn any plastic wastes. At Puh I am able to buy a cheap pair of gloves that I badly needed and had forgotten to carry in my state of heightened anxiety, and use it throughout the trip gratefully. The hotel I stayed in cost me Rs.300 for a night and was run by Nepalese people on rent.

The names Karcham, Recong Peo, Poari, Jangi, Puh, Nako, Tabo, Kaza, Losser and Kunzum La – remind you that you this territory does not share the traditional Indian names of Simla, Rampur and Narkanda that you have left behind. The culture of this region therefore tells you that the history Kinnaur and Spiti is a region that was part of the Tibetan culture. That this territory is now in India is because India and China have both claimed
parts of Tibet as their own, while blaming each other for being the aggressors.
I begin early on the second day from Puh as the “back of envelope iternary”(that my friend had given me), tells me that today will be a 30Km steep climb. The climb is steep and it is 30 out of the 45Kms long. The vegetation is all gone and the first views of the great  bare  multicoloured  mountains
of massive proportions all around you, greet  you  as  you  turn  left  from  the point where Satluj river leaves India to enter China at a place called “Khab”( Satluj  is  called  Khabab  on  the  other side of the border in China). At Khab the  Spiti  river  meets  with  Satluj  and you  leave  Satluj  to  follow  the  Spiti  river. The climb is long and sustained but the gradient is not too steep. By the time you reach Nako village, you have  climbed  atleast  2,500  ft.  The road  is  good  and  there  is  also  a  tea shop mid way at a small village. The 3 litre camelback water bottle runs out at the mid way point, the cycle starts giving some trouble with the gear shifting.

Just before Nako, taking a rest after the second hair pin climbs, I meet a man waiting for a bus. Rajaalam is a civil contractor from Bihar who builds houses. From him and from several other workers and contractors in Kinnaur and Spiti valleys, I come to know that there is a major construction boom taking place. First it was the Nepali labour that had come in a few decades ago to cut the roads – something that the local labour was scared to do. Now that the connectivity is there and with it has come in the orchards and lucrative summer peas farming in Kinnaur and Spiti valleys ‐ more housing construction is taking place. Rajalam starts telling me the story of his life, how he has worked all his life in difficult terrains, first in Sikkim for 10 years till he fought with another contractor and had to leave, not getting decent work in the plains of UP and finally coming here.

Some other Nepali workers I later on meet close to Kaza also tell me that they have worked in far away projects in Indian Himalayas for the past two decades. There is therefore a professional category of people who work on tough construction and infrastructure jobs(dam building, road cutting). Majority of the early migrants  doing  the  toughest  jobs  were  Nepalis  and  their  contribution  is  hardly  recognised.  Besides  these professional labourers, there are many now new migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand and UP, coming up seasonal odd jobs to Spiti. It is these workers that now make the economy of Spiti run, as is also the case of Punjab. I estimate that each village in the Spiti valley(there could be as many as 500 villages in Spiti district alone) having atleast 10 to 20 migrant workers who work for atleast 3 months a year. Many more work for the Army or the Border roads organisation and on the tunnel dams that are coming up.
Cycling the final 5 Kms toNako once again turns  out  to  be  as  difficult  as  the  last stretch to Puh. In all it takes me 5 hours to cycle the 45 Kms and about 3 hours to rest in between. Having started at 7.30am from Puh,  I  reach  Nako  at  4pm.  The  village  is small with a lake that is touted as a tourist attraction along with a monastery. The lake turns out to be a small village pond inside the  village  and  an  overpowering  smell  of dung  and  urine.  I  prefer  to  stay  outside where a cheaper hotel is available, again at Rs.300 a night. The hotel I stay in is run by a Nepali worker on rent, like in Puh.

Having  reached  Nako  and  eating  Thupka( Chinese  food  is  the  local  food  here)  and Momos, I convince myself that I need a rest day  to  gather  my  strength.  However  the next day by 11am I am restless and wanting to go. I decide that I will stay at the next village(Sumdo or Chango) and leave at 11am. There is a climb from Nako to the Maliag Nala(named after the village Maliang that is next to Nako but does not have any hotels), infamous for being the worst landslide on the whole route and where many a holiday makers have had to turn back.  The  tallest  peak  in  Kinnaur  called  Reo  Purguil,  lies  in  the  direction  from  where  this  mighty  rivulet emerges. Fortunately for me, this year the road to the snout of the Maliang Nala is small with no landslides and I am able to cycle through about half feet of water. What follows is a 2000ft descent towards Chango village. However all along the way and the 20Km descent, the big mountains turn into different colours with  the  changing  sunlight  as  it  happens  in Ladakh. Besides the violet and orange colours of rock, there are white/cream coloured sand dunes  that  emerge  as  you  descend  to Chango. There is little traffic and as a cyclist you are held in awe, in the silent wind swept environment. Chango village with its fancy name turns out to  be  a  peas  growing  commercial  hub  of Kinnaur. The village is a couple of kilometres

away from the main road and I am told does roaring  business(it  sold  green  peas  at Rs30/Kg at farmgate price last year). I decide to cycle on. The Dalai Lama has come to Kaza and therefore entire villages that fall on  my  way  are  empty.  There  are  families packed  in  jeeps  going  to  Kaza.  The  Indian border with China at Sumdo/Kaurik holds the other  police  check  point  where  the  Station House Officer turns out to be from Punjab and shares his hardship of life at this remote place and offers a welcome cup of tea. He tells me that he is able to visit his home in Kangra valley every month on the pretext of following up on some old police case.
The  road  from  Chango  to  Tabo  moves  along  the roaring Spiti river and you can hear the sounds of rockfall  from  the  high  mountains  around  you  as well  as  hear  the  mighty  river.  On  this  relatively traffic‐less road, the sounds and sights make for a great  feeling  and  as  a  cyclist  friend  told  me  on return – “very meditative”. I was only conscious of the  gradient  that  I  found  was  within  my  comfort zone and I pressed ahead of Hurling towards Tabo. On the way I meet a school teacher who is waiting for a bus in front of a small village on the other side of Spiti river. He tells me that this is a punishment posting  for  him  because  of  his  political  leanings. The high mountains remain the last refuge of the people who are either pushed out from the plains because of grinding poverty like the labourers or like this teacher for their political differences.

Five kilometres before Tabo a PWD Guest House, on a quiet road head of Lari village, with a board, “Tourists are welcome to stay” is difficult to resist. Its getting late in the evening and I decide to halt here, completing 55Kms of cycling in less than 4 hours. To be pleasantly surprised to find at the rest house three people on two motorbikes. Vivek, an ex colleague in CARE and Sam and Lincy are very kind and generous. Vivek and I quickly share an update on our lives and I certainly feel very good to have company. Going alone was out was not my preferred  choice.  They  are  heading for Tabo to see the monastery while I rest.  The  guest  house  is  very comfortable. Even at 8.30pm the sky still has some light and we sit on the terrace  to  watch  a  beautiful  moon rise  taking  pace  from  the  north eastern horizon. This is a good quiet place  to  be  with  friends  or  family. One  of  the  most  beautiful  and comfortable stops I will have on this trip.

The  next  morning  offers  stunning views of the mountains behind Tabo with  the  morning  light  grazing  the mountain  tops  and  whisps  of  clouds sticking to the snow clad peaks like a painting.  With  a  good  rest,  I  start again at  7am  on  the  hird  day  and head  toward Kaza I  have  my breakfast  at  Tabo  because  the chowkidar has left for Kaza. The valley opens up and so does the Spiti river from its roaring  rush to its open meandering quietness. The view is spectacular. Tabo is resting in front of brown and golden mountains with snow icing. As you move ahead of Tabo, the backdrop is replaced by another set of faraway high peaks that form the grand backdrop to Kaza. The valley keeps turning and the each time there is a grand mountain behind a great wide valley with yellow and greens.

My  motorbike  friends  are  visiting  the monasteries  along  the  way  as  they are making  the  circuit  of  Simla‐Manali.  We will play the catch up game all the way till Manali and it is a good feeling to hail each other nearly every day. At a tea shop in a village half way to Kaza from Tabo, I have Thupka at the only tea shop that is open. The migrant wage workers only are left in the  villages  while  the  residents  have  all flocked to Kaza. Three Nepali workers get talking  to  me  in  the  tea  shop  and  their eyes  light  up  when  I  tell  then  that  the Nepali people have done a great thing by getting rid of their monarchy. The sense of pride and achievement is truly significant given that till a decade ago the monarchy was  held  in  great  respect.  Not  even  in India have our people a sense of hope and The tea shop is run on behalf of a local resident by a Nepali worker who has a deformed leg and shows me a big scar on his stomach(an ulcer operation). The labour they tell me here comes from Recong Peo that has emerged as the contracting hub for all casual  worker requirements in Spiti and  Kinnaur. Here any farmer or resident goes to get workers  on   contract,  usually  for agriculture  work  on  making  water channels  from  the  snow  fed  streams and house construction work. They tell me that work lasts 4 to 5 months a year and it is job work. Another group of 5 young  men  on  the  road  are  all  from Bihar. Coming all the way to find work in this remote and difficult area, with little medical,  working  in  what  is  called  the “inner  line  permit  area”  close  to  the border  that  is  under  complete  army control  –  these  migrant  workers  have little comfort of any workers rights and dispute resolution with civil authorities.

Work  permits  for  Nepali  workers  are made in Recong peo. Kaza is the district headquarter of Spiti but I am not aware of  any  attempt  made  by  the  district administration of Kaza and for that matter any other district administration of India – to provide for some social  security,  health  and  other  facilities  for  the  migrant  workers.  Similarly  there  is  no  migrant  labour registration or support office in Recong Peo that the migrant workers can go to. Buddhists have come from Ladakh, Dharamsala, Nepal and also some foreigners, have come to Kaza to attend the Kal Chakra and seek blessings from the Dalai Lama. The 50Kms distance from Tabo to Kaza meanders along the Spiti river and has a distinct climb, moving away from the river and then crossing it at Kaza/Ranrik. A  beautiful  grassy  campsite  about  5  kms  before  Kaza  has  tents  and  perhaps  portends  a  warning  of  the crowded town ahead. I make a call home from Kaza to my family and decide to cycle on to the next village of Ranrik. The road crosses Spiti river and climbs up a bit to a small village where school boys with cricket bats look just like kids in any other town. It does not feel that you are at 11,000ft and separated from the rest of the country by a 15,000ft high Kunzum La pass two days ahead. The one guest house at Ranrik is packed with tourists  and  Buddhists  attending  the  Kal  Chakra.  The  very  generous  manager  Shamsher  of  Spiti  Sarai resort/hotel has accommodated as many people as he can and asks me to wait till a family that has a spare tent to return. The Tibetan family kindly lends me their 2 man tent and I finally pitch the tent at 7pm for the night and am not charged anything for this help. Being a cyclist and alone is something that everyone admires and they go out of their way to help you. The hotel has a good kitchen offering good meals and tea.

The  adventure  and  emotion  of  not  knowing  what  comes  next  day,  on  a  new  trail,  is  something  that  you experience on a trek and a cycling trip like this. The road from Ranrik to Losser(my destination) on the fifth day passes through green fields with peas and villages scattered all along. The road kept meandering, heading away from the Spiti river, towards the higher reaches of Kunzum La. The extensive scale of cultivation, of bringing water from melting snows by constructing water channels sometimes tens of kilometres long, has transformed  the  area.  The  views  are  dramatic,  wide  green  valleys  with  big  snow  clad  mountains  in  the backdrop.  A  great  unspoilt  trekking  and  climbing  area  with  enchanting  valleys  inviting  you  to  step  in  and explore. The road keeps you guessing where the Kunzum La pass lies, as you keep moving leftwards from one valley to another, from one inhabited village to another.

Finally  climbing  towards  some  of the highest inhabited villages, you reach  the  villages  of  Hansa  and Losser. Not having had anything to eat  since  the  morning,  at  Hansa village,  I  find  a  man  crossing  the road and ask him if a tea shop in the  village  is  open.  Mohan  Singh Bodh  tells  me  that  everyone  has gone to Kaza and offers to take me to his hope for a cup of tea that I gratefully  accept.  His  home  is  a typical  Spiti  home  with  space  for animals  on  the  ground  floor  and residence  on  the  first  and  second floors. The 20ft by 30 ft room has carpets  on  the  floor  to  sit  down and eat from small tables. My host tells  me  that  he  has  pea  farming that provides him with as much as Rs.1 to Rs.2 lakh net cash income a year. His son studies in Solan and he stays with his wife and daughter. Very kindly he first makes tea and then also offers me food. As a farmer he is aware of the changes taking place, the movement of apple orchards from Kinnaur into Spiti valley he says is a result of warming of temperature in the past 2 decades. The snowfall is less than what it used to be. He is grateful of the services and welfare programmes of the government including an emergency health evacuation by helicopter. Besides subsidies for fuelwood(that is a lifeblood need for winter) and other schemes for repairing of houses.

Thanking my host for a great lunch, I head off to Losser village and am confronted with a frontal wind in the afternoon coming down from the high mountain pass. Losser is the last village before the Kunzum La pass, situated at the height of 13,500 feet. It is difficult to have both wind and the mild ascent to cycle against. The rest and calories that the lunch secured are soon lost. Finally it is comforting to find another beautifully located comfortable PWD guest house at Losser. The young chowkidar warns me that I would have to vacate if anyone with  a  permit  came  in.  However  none  arrive  except  two  PWD  officers  who  discuss  with  me  in  detail  the ongoing development works in Himachal Pradesh and how they have to cope with political pressure on one hand to employ more and more local people on the public works and the demands of the difficult labour works that  require  able  bodied  and  younger  people  to  work  on  to  keep  the  roads  and  bridges  functional.  As Engineers they are happy with the thrust of the Himachal Pradesh government for more tunnel dams for power generation and private contractors like JP Associates being employed.

They also admit that the dams are depleting ground water in villages and that this year was the first one in their living memory when schools had to be shut down in June for no drinking water availability in many districts in Himachal. My friends that I met on the way at Lari however told me that highly technical work like tunnel dams in the sensitive Himalyan landscape need scientific assessments as is done in Europe where they are harvesting tidal energy from high seas. However in India civil contractors like JP Associates who have been government contractors and have worked on Tehri dam – are given the sole charge of making 10 to 20 kms long tunnel dams without any form of public  disclosure  of  environmental  assessment  and  local  consultations,  to  inform  local  people  as  well  as citizens at large on the risks and damage that tunnel dam technology may bring.

More and more tunnel dams are being sanctioned at great speed by the Himacahal Pradesh government to private contractors. In the years to come the fragile ecology as well as the pristine beauty of the Spiti valley is likely  to  be  spoilt  forever.  The  hills mined and the rivers tamed, with ugly and unplanned mining and disposal of tunnel  debris  all  along  with  way,  as has happened at Karcham and Sangla. The  chowkidar  shares  with  me  the evening  meal  he  has  made  and  the culture and current practises of Spiti.

He has been on a few mountaineering expeditions to the inviting mountains all around. He tells me that the elder son  continues  to  inherit  all  family property  in  Spiti.  This  needs  to  be verified. It is true that the under thelong  years  of  medieval  era,  with limited land and agriculture produce, the monasteries set the cultural and economic order of the Buddhist Spiti valley. It is another matter that the monasteries themselves were institutions of extraction of surplus wealth as well as labour form the villages with each family having to give one child or more to the monastery and the institution of polyandry too seemed to have prevailed. When I asked him how the other brothers then get married be tells me that things have become better and they find wage labour and do get married.

The night while I rest with a good sleep and discussions at Losser, it rains. In the morning I get up feeling uncomfortable seeing fresh snow on the big mountains and large black clouds in the sky. Wondering if it is worth taking the risk of cycling up to 15,000ft Kunzum La pass in this weather with a potential threat of snow and blizzards.

The Kal chakra has ended in Kaza and the morning busses are coming jam packed. Even if I want to pack up my trip and take a bus, there is no seat. I ask a tuck driver to take me across the pass and he agrees.

Coming all the way and not doing the pass, however haunts me and with the weather clearing up a bit, I decide to cycle on. In a beautiful meadow ahead of Losser where yaks and goats are grazing, I find a group of young men with their horses. They are having their morning meal and invite me. Not having eaten anything, I agree. These men are working for a trekking company and are on their way to Kibber, for a trek to Ladakh(Tso Miriri lake) with foreigners. Their kind offering of a hot meal of chapati and sabzi and talking to them is energising. I cycle on towards the pass. The first set of hairpin bends give way to longer longitudinal climbs that I keep telling myself – this will be the last climb of my trip. The climbs are not tough but the altitude and the cold makes them tough. The pass is very moderate in its climb from Losser side and as you reach the crest, you are in company of many beautiful snow clad peaks all around. Yet for me it is half walking and half cycling in the last 10 Kms to reach the top of the pass.

Two chortens and a temple greet you on one side of the pass. Some of the returning Buddhists(from Kaza) take photos. A path from the pass goes to the Chandratal lake that is 8Kms away. Like the monasteries on the way, this could have been a good detour if I had company of a fellow cyclist. Just the feeling that you reached this altitude on a cycle and without support, is a good feeling. I look forward to the decent for the day to Batal 11Kms down the pass. It’s a steep descent and it does not take me more than 40 minutes. The mountain range on the other side is saddled with huge snow clad Chandra Bhaga range that has given birth to the Chandra river(that later becomes Chenab river and flows into Pakistan from Kashmir).

My  cycling  trip  ends  when  I  reach Batal, a desolate and windy place with 3 dhabas offering food and shelter to tourists  and  trekking  groups.  I  am undecided on what to do next, having spent a tierd day cycling over the pass. My head is numb, there is a headache to add to the confusion. I do not know what  to  do.  Eating  lunch,  seeing  a foreign  cycling  party  come  up  with  a back up support van, I decide that I will not  cycle  the  next  50Kms  that  would take  me  to  Gramphu,  at  the  base  of Rohtang  Pass.  I  feel  I  have  had  my share  of  adventure  and  would  rather take  a  bus  and  return  home,  than cyclong  for  one  more  day.

No  tyre puncture and no accident on the way, this was a relatively good trip. I had no intention to cross the Rohtang Pass to Manali  anyway.  The  bus  journey  to Manali is uneventful. With rainfall starting as we cross Rohtang, I see my friends that I made in Lari waiting at Marhi with sudden rain interrupting their descent. Its back to where we left. Breaks like this are great and we cycling trips like treks offer the pleasure of movement and time to soak in the place, culture and interaction with people. With age you understand your body better, take more rests and are mentally at peace with the challenging terrain. In youth you are impatient and wanting to test your physical strength against the mountains. The only risk that I could identify at the end of this solo trip was of falling off the bike and breaking a few bones and then having to come back with a cast or a sling! All other risks of fatal stone fall or landslide could happen to anyone and remain objective risks of any adventure.

The feeling that you are out on a holiday(even when cycling is no luxury cruise, while so many migrant people are perhaps more brave than you to come so far and so ill equipped to make a hard living), remains the saddest part of the adventure. Ladakh and Spiti were opened to foreigners in the early 1980s. Till then these were  remote  areas  where  only  mountaineers  and  trekkers  used  to  go.  Now  with  roads  and  tourism,  the average middle class families are venturing to these remote areas or a holiday. The local culture and economy in the meantime has been transformed from the traditional peasant to the commercial and petty trading one. The kids play cricket and the local farmers are sending their children to college in the plains. Whether the tourists of tomorrow will see Spiti and Ladakh as consumable tourism locations to be visited and pictured or will the tourists be able to see in the changing landscape the change in their own history and culture – and a desire to preserve the good and resist the bad(tunnel dams and feel empathy for the migrant labour), remains to be seen. It is likely that the middle class tourists will identify with issues like global warming and protecting the  rivers  if  there  is  some  awareness,  but  not  the  people  who  reside  here  and  who  migrate  here.  Our dominant  culture  tells  us  to  consume  and  not  think,  seek  personal  atonement  and  not  expect  any  larger change. Global warming will not be solved with this mentality, nor will we be able to save our selves from delusion into believing that nothing can change.

To rohtang
“Life is like living on the land above water
sometimes your sinking
sometimes your jumping
sometimes you just float”

Rohtang pass(4112m) itself is major tourist attraction. But really its the beginning if one decides to venture further.

Madhi(start of the rohtang climb)
“We are not confined by nature
we are confined by ourselves”

rohtang pass

After descending from the rohtang the fun part really starts.You can opt to go to keylong which is about 60 kms from rohtang or towards kaza which falls to the opposite side.You can’t guess where you’ll be spending the night so one needs to be prepared. The chandra river accompanies you through the valley which is nothing less than thrilling.

Chandra(start of the spiti valley)

The PWD guest houses are the only tangible structures that provide for a shelter until the first major village of the region.

PWD guest house (chotta darra)

Arguably the most beautiful part of the region starts from here. A photographer can probably capture only half of what this actually is. You can’t describe it in words. So i won’t even try.

En route to Batal

“You might call it paradise. You might call it anything. But the beauty remains incomprehensible”

Batal

A 12 km diversion from batal takes you to Chandratal. A place that leaves a lasting impression.

The road to chandtratal
“You might fall. Or you may call it flying”

Chandratal lake

“Don’t submit yourself to your limits. Break one and you’ll find a new path”

View from Chandtralal
“Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it, like my heart’s going to cave in”
- American beauty

This place won’t let you go easy. And for once you would want to succumb to whats around you.

Back from Chandratal

“Forget the destination for a while. Just choose a path

Locals carrying groceries

It would be easy to call this place heavenly. But I won’t. Because if heaven was so easy there would be no god.

Shimla:

If the city needs to be saved then it was essential that deodar trees be save and the green spaces be protected, he said.

Admitting there was population pressure on the hill capital but instead of permitting more construction, he said that to maintain civic standards and provide enough mobility avenues, decongestion was required.

Responding to the discussion Mohinder Singh, urban development minister disclosed that even after attaining the status of a mission city under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the previous government had failed to submit a city development plan or a city mobility plan, which had blocked much of the funding proposals submitted to the centre.

He said that the Rs 3700 crore project proposals which congress members, including Vidya Stokes, opposition leader had mentioned during the discussion only existed on paper as no such proposal stood approved by JNNURM.

The minister said that scarcity of available land for widening of roads, setting up parking places and for other civic amenities was proving to be a big constraint in improving the cities infrastructure.

He said 7 slots for setting up multi-storied parking places had been identified, a new fleet of 75 mini-buses for strengthening public transport system was to be inducted soon and the Lakkar Bazar bus terminus was to be shifted to Dhalli for removing congestion.

To improve the sewerage system, a Rs 180 crore project had been moved to the centre for funding and the ministry proposed to introduce CNG and electric buses for public transport. Plans were also being drawn up to set up satellite townships for reducing the load on the city.

Earlier moving the discussion, Suresh Bhardwaj (BJP) pointed out aberrations in cities building laws. “On one hand the government permits a 11 storied building for housing the state High Court and at the same time restrains the common man from adding another floor to his premises,” he said.

He said traffic had become Shimla’s bane and a master plan needs to drawn up to decongest as well as plan for the future. “Even to access emergency services in hospitals was being affected because of traffic snarls,” said Bhardwaj.

GS Bali (congress) mentioned that across the country there was a move for green India and opening up restricted areas for construction would deplete the green cover and create more chaos.

He said that duplicity in granting construction permission needs to be done away with as the powerful manage to obtain cabinet clearances while the common man fails to get such permissions.

Harwardhan Chauhan, (congress) asked for empowering the police to regulate traffic more strictly, like it is done in Chandigarh. To foresee future needs an international consultant could be roped in if the city is to retain its status over the next two to three decades, he said.

Rakesh Pathania, (Independent) made specific references about permissions granted in violation of city building laws to a house in Jakhoo’s protected green belt and gross deviations taken place while constructing the congress Bhavan on the Cart Road.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukku (congress) pointed out access problems in localities like cemetery colony in Sanjauli and some localities in Dhalli. “Approach to some houses in these localities was so constrained that it was difficult to remove a dead body without using the neighbours premises should a tragedy strike some family living there,” he said.

Participating in the discussion Rajesh Dharmani, (congress) mentioned the hardships faced by women, children and handicapped persons in using the public transport system during peak hours of 9 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.

The congressman demanded special buses for women and children during rush hours and marking of seating space for them in all public transport coaches.

Photo by: Himanshu Khagta.