Ban on night stay at hills will affect adventure tourism in Uttarakhand

An order to ban night stay at high-altitude meadows and limiting the number of tourists, by the Uttarakhand High Court will adversely affect the adventure tourism in the state, experts say.

It is expected that one lakh people engaged in trekking and mountaineering expeditions will be jobless, besides the loss of revenues to the state.

.”Tourism, especially adventure tourism, is the only bread earner for the hill inmates and a court order like this is indirectly asking tourists not to come to the state,” said Jayendra Singh Rana,  President of Garhwal Himalayan Trekking and Mountaineering Association.

“The judgment will deprive many people of their livelihood and compel to leave the hills to look for a job,” he added.

“There are trekking destinations that cannot be reached within a day. How can the people reach there without a halt at night? What will happen to the porters, mule operators, helpers and cooks who go along with the trekking and expedition teams?” asked Rana.

Regulated tourism that prohibits activities that threaten the ecological balance of the Himalayas, such as littering the meadows with non-biodegradable materials like plastic, was acceptable; but limiting the number of tourists and banning night stay will force the people engaged in the industry to shut down their business and go elsewhere in search of livelihood,” said Dinesh Uniyal, a member of Joshimath Adventure Association.

The government always urges the local people not to migrate from the hills; but the restrictions put forth by them like this are against this concept. “”Before enforcing the rule, all stakeholders and people associated with the trade should be taken into consideration,” added Uniyal.