The tourist places of Kullu Manali are clogged with garbage during summer tourist season as tourist crowd leaves behind tonnes of garbage. This time Kullu administration is not in mood to spare the litterbugs and has warned to impose a heavy fine on whoever throws garbage in open space. After National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked deputy commissioners of all districts of Himachal to ensure disposal of plastic waste from roadsides, rivers, nullahs and tourist places, Kullu administration has warned people of district to stop littering or face fine of upto Rs one lakh. The administration will run district wide campaigns to clean up garbage from rivers, their tributaries, towns and tourist places from May 3. As the district produces most garbage during summer tourist season in May and June, the officials have warned hoteliers, restaurant operators, shopkeepers and all residents that special surveillance teams are monitoring the entire district which will take action on litterbugs. Kullu deputy commissioner Yunus said civic bodies, panchayats, mahila mandals, yuvak mandals, NGOs and general public will take part in garbage cleanliness campaigns in entire district. “Our focus is on plastic garbage which not only will be collected but we shall dispose it off properly. We have taken the complaints of littering very seriously. We have provision of imposing fine up to Rs one lakh,” he said. Kullu-Manali produces tonnes of garbage every day during tourist season. Littering is the problem in all tourist places of Kullu. The officials of different departments have been directed to inspect tourist places frequently so that action could be taken against the offenders. Not just national highways, Beas river, its tributaries and towns but the villagers too would be challaned on the spot if they found throwing garbage in open spaces. The DC said dedicated teams have been constituted
The tourist places of Kullu Manali are clogged with garbage during summer tourist season as tourist crowd leaves behind tonnes of garbage. This time Kullu administration is not in mood to spare the litterbugs and has warned to impose a heavy fine on whoever throws garbage in open space. After National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked
Away from the heat of Lok Sabha elections, hundreds of tourists on Wednesday enjoyed unexpected summer snowfall at Gulaba, 23km from Manali. While mercury in many parts of the country has jumped above 40 degrees Celsius, the peaks of Himachal are still getting fresh snow. The temperature in many parts of Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts of Himachal has plunged close to freezing point. The snowfall in mid-April has thrilled the hundreds of tourists at Gulaba near Manali. Gulaba, on the foothills of Rohtang pass, was opened for tourists on Tuesday after a gap of four months. Gulaba received 5cm fresh snow while Rohtang pass is expected to have received nearly 15cm snow. Parts of Lahaul valley also received some snowflakes. Border Roads Organization (BRO) had cleared snow till Marhi, 17km short of Rohtang pass. The fresh snowfall has affected the snow clearance operations. BRO wants to resume traffic on Manali-Rohtang-Keylong highway before election on May 19. Snowfall on high hills and rains in lower parts have triggered cold in upper Himachal. In Manali, residents have brought out sweaters and jackets from the closets. Tourists staying in hotels were demanding for room heaters. Manali sub-divisional magistrate Ashwani Kumar said tourists are allowed to go till Gulab where they can enjoy snow. "There is no limit on number of vehicles and no permit is required to go till Gulaab. Once vehicles are allowed to go beyond Gulaba, only 1,300 tourist vehicles would be given the permit on daily basis. Gulaba has enough snow for tourists," he said. While snowfall has brought cheer among tourists and hoteliers, it has worried the fruit growers. "Our apple orchards are under full blossom. A sudden drop in temperature is lethal for the crop. We pray almighty that snowfall on hills and drop in temperature
Away from the heat of Lok Sabha elections, hundreds of tourists on Wednesday enjoyed unexpected summer snowfall at Gulaba, 23km from Manali. While mercury in many parts of the country has jumped above 40 degrees Celsius, the peaks of Himachal are still getting fresh snow. The temperature in many parts of Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti and
Mountaineering activities including climbing expeditions and trekking in Himachal would be possible for a limited time period as a thick blanket of snow on the peaks which is taking too much time to melt has shrunk the season. The winter season this year experienced several spells of heavy snowfall. Fresh snowfall is still continuing on high hills of Himachal. Not just tourists would be able to visit Rohtang pass in May end or early June, the trekking and climbing expeditions would start only after June. The Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar and other major mountain ranges above 10,000ft are still covered with a thick blanket of snow. All the major trekking routes in the state pass through Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kangra or Kinnaur. The multiple days trekking generally involves traversing the high mountain passes which are expected to be open for trekkers by mid-June. Usually, trekking starts from May. Kaushal Bhardwaj, a mountaineering guide, said Hamta Pass, Pin Parvati pass, Kullu-Bada Bhangal, Lahaul-Zanskar, Spiti-Tso Moriri, McLeodganj-Chamba and Bhawa pass are the most sought trekking tours which are expected to open by mid or end of June. “The passes and the routes are deep under snow. Organizing trekking tours on high altitude is very risky. Even professional mountaineers avoid going such trekking these days as it would be very difficult for rescue teams to reach them in case of emergency,” he said. Sachin Sharma, a mountain expedition organizer, said, some people go for climbing in low altitude peaks but all prominent peaks in Himachal have altitude more than 18,000ft and expedition in this season can prove fatal. “The main danger is avalanches and covered crevasses. The heavy snowfall had led to the early closure of the season last year and it will now delay the opening of season as well. We advise our
Mountaineering activities including climbing expeditions and trekking in Himachal would be possible for a limited time period as a thick blanket of snow on the peaks which is taking too much time to melt has shrunk the season. The winter season this year experienced several spells of heavy snowfall. Fresh snowfall is still continuing on
Following increasing cases of accidents in adventure tourism activities in Kullu, the district administration has ordered to seal the unauthorized paragliding sites and take strict action on illegal river rafting in Beas. Kullu deputy commissioner Yunus ordered SDMs and district tourism and development officer to destroy the paragliding infrastructure at Dobhi, Talogi, and Bijli Mahadev. He said these are the hotspots for unauthorized paragliding. Three persons, including a tourist from Kerala, have died in paragliding mishaps at Dobhi recently. Every year many tourists die while experiencing adventure activities like paragliding, river rafting, and hiking. After administration received many complaints of river rafting at unauthorized stretches of Beas, it has tightened the screw on the operators and said nobody has the right to play with the lives of innocent people. He ordered operators to ensure use of safety equipment and operate only on government authorized area. The administration has also imposed ba an on display of river rafting hording and the opening of booking counters along the national highway in Kullu-Manali. Rafting operators have been asked to make their rules in favour of better tourism and safety of tourists and deposit it with Dthe C office within 10 days. DC said associations would be responsible for the safety of the tourists. He asked paragliding and rafting operators to fix the charges for the services and display rates at appropriate places. He also ordered the tourism department to print pamphlets with rates of the activities and distribute among tourists. “We shall apply no tolerance policy on adventure sports. We are not against the activities and the operators who are earning their livelihood but we are against unauthorized activities. We receive many complaints regarding lack of safety from tourists and local residents,” Yunus said. He added that new regulations are being prepared for
Following increasing cases of accidents in adventure tourism activities in Kullu, the district administration has ordered to seal the unauthorized paragliding sites and take strict action on illegal river rafting in Beas. Kullu deputy commissioner Yunus ordered SDMs and district tourism and development officer to destroy the paragliding infrastructure at Dobhi, Talogi, and Bijli Mahadev.
If you are planning to visit Kullu-Manali this summer season and Rohtang pass is on your priority wish list, make sure you adhere to the timing system fixed by Kullu district magistrate, failing to which you may have to return back to Manali from mid-way. The tourist vehicles bound for Rohtang pass/Marhi/Beas Nala/Rahni nala/Rahla fall or other areas around Rohtang pass would be allowed to cross Gulaba check post from 7:45 am to 10 am daily. Tourists planning to visit Ladakh/Lahaul/Spiti/Pangi/Killar by road from Manali will be required to start traveling early morning as all tourist vehicles going beyond Rohtang pass will be allowed to cross Gulaba barrier (22km from Manali) only between 5:30 AM to 7:30 AM every day. Issuing a notification, district magistrate Yunus has fixed timing for all kind of vehicles to ensure smooth flow of traffic, without hours-long jams on Rohtang highway. Manali-Rohtang highway clogs with vehicles in peak summer tourist season due to the narrow road. The administration will enforce the timing system on trial basis this season. The timing system will be enforced strictly, but will totally depend on weather conditions. In case of emergency, the officials can slightly change the time. Kullu administration has fixed time for tourist, goods carriers and private cars bound for all the destinations across Rohtang pass and coming from both directions i.e. from Manali to Rohtang and from Rohtang to Manali. However, the administration has asked the public to give suggestions or file objection on this before April 18. This arrangement is temporary and can be lifted during a lean tourist season when traffic is thin. The timing system would not be applicable for emergency vehicles (fire/ambulances/police) and government vehicles. Apart from taking care for the timing system, don’t forget to obtain a permit for your vehicle to
If you are planning to visit Kullu-Manali this summer season and Rohtang pass is on your priority wish list, make sure you adhere to the timing system fixed by Kullu district magistrate, failing to which you may have to return back to Manali from mid-way. The tourist vehicles bound for Rohtang pass/Marhi/Beas Nala/Rahni nala/Rahla fall
