Tag: foreigners missing in kullu manali

MANALI: Distracted by heat and din, over 1.5 crore tourists visit Himachal every year to relax in cold and calm atmosphere, but not all of them return home safely as nature’s beauty proves lethal for few of them. Negligence, ignorance, improper safety arrangements, hurriedness, rescue response delay, week communication and medical services are few of the known reasons which are proving fatal for dozens of tourists every year. Most of the ill-fated tourists are dying by drowning in Beas river, besides mountaineering mishaps and road accidents. Kullu-Manali draws largest number of tourists in the state and is also hub of adventure activities including mountaineering, river rafting, paragliding and skiing. While dozens of tourists, mostly foreigners have either died or gone missing during mountaineering, number of tourists being drowned in Beas and Parvati rivers has also increased over the years. After the incident of Shalanala, Mandi, where 24 students of Hyderabad engineering college were washed away by water of Beas, Himachal government has stepped up its surveillance along the riverbanks but preparations seem to be inadequate as tourists, out of curiosity and charmed by its beauty, continue to throng the river banks. Snow and rivers of Kullu-Manali have always been attracting tourists from across the globe. While sudden unseasonal snowfall and landslides leave hundreds of tourists stranded for hours every year, rivers too have proved fatal for tourists who are not aware of the hidden dangers associated with it. Tourists cannot resist themselves and throng its banks to touch, feel and enjoy its cold water. They generally underestimate its force as river actually flows in high velocity than it appears. Even after the Shalanala accident, dozens of tourists can be spotted either sitting on the boulders between river to get themselves clicked or bathing in its swift currents. When a tourist