MANALI: Be it Kufri, Narkanda, Solang or any skiing slope of Himachal, none of them have snow-making machine like ski slopes of developed nations. Despite high demand from skiers, government has failed to buy a single such machine to ensure availability of snow on slopes whenever needed. But, four youth from Manali villages have imported a snow-making machine from Europe which will start making snow in next few days. Sunil Thakur, Hira Lal, Mohan and Gokul Thakur, all from villages near Manali, spent more than Rs 30 lakh to bring this machine to Solang village of Manali. What motivated them to introduce this machine to Manali was the uncertainty of snowfall on Himalayas even during winter months and thousands of tourists thronging hill stations only to see snow. They are installing the machine on a private land, not on the skiing slope. “Our basic idea is to make a snow park in Manali where tourist can see snow throughout winter season. The installation is on final stage. We have a small glitch with water hose coupling. The machine has coupling with European standards and ours is of Indian standards. We are fixing the problem. Hopefully we shall start making snow with seven quintal machine in 3-4 days,” Sunil said. The ski slopes of Solang are on government land and majority of its part is leased out to a private company where individuals cannot do such experiment. So, the youth chose the private land near the slope. Hira Lal, who has participated in Winter Olympics and World Skiing Championships, had seen such machines abroad and wanted to bring one to India. He partnered with three others and turned the dream into reality. Roshan Lal Thakur, former secretary general of Witner Games Fedration of India, also helped them in bringing machine to
MANALI: Be it Kufri, Narkanda, Solang or any skiing slope of Himachal, none of them have snow-making machine like ski slopes of developed nations. Despite high demand from skiers, government has failed to buy a single such machine to ensure availability of snow on slopes whenever needed. But, four youth from Manali villages have imported