Agree with Gurcharan sir, Shrikant sir, Pankaj sir and Manoj sir and dinesh sir
On Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 12:51 PM, Dinesh Valke <[email protected]>wrote: > Many thanks Gurcharan ji, Shrikant ji, Pankaj and Manoj ji ... your > thoughts and perspectives are very interesting reading, it threw lot of > light to what I could not see. > Regards. > Dinesh > > > > On Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 12:41 PM, manoj chandran <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Most of the muleteers are from Moradabad, Najibabad, etc and the total >> number of mules during the season exceeds 10000. Chopper services can only >> take the pilgrims till Ghanghariya. Choppers cannot fly to Hemkund as >> Hemkund is most of the time under fog and cloud. If somebody opts for a >> mule ride, then he will have to spend atleast Rs.4000 plus spend atleast >> two days rent and also food charges. So, taking a chopper would not be that >> additional an expense and also will save time. The major protest is from >> muleteers and shopkeepers who think their business will fall. However, >> there will always be pilgrims who prefer to walk to reach the shrine rather >> than take a ride in a mule or helicopter. More chopper services would also >> increase competition and the prices may also come down. The chopper takes >> only 6 minutes to Ghangharia. Saving three days would also mean saving >> three days of garbage. However, choppers and ropeways cannot cater to all >> pilgrims, even those who do not wish to walk, because the total number of >> pilgrims is too high. So, a ropeway will only be an additional facility and >> will in no way reduce the impacts of tourism. Rather, more pilgrims would >> be attracted due to the facility, who otherwise would not have ventured to >> visit the shrine, which they believe is a life time achievement. The flora >> of Hemkund Sahib has been the same from a long time ago, and the pilgrimage >> also is very old. Collection of Brahma Kamal is also an age old practice. >> These plants are perennial and propagates more by vegetative means than >> from seeds. Also, they grow in very gregarious populations and it is not >> possible to collect all the flowers. The additional facilities will cater >> to decrease the impact of increase in number of pilgrims. The major issue >> is garbage and mule dung. Mule dung is very 'hot' and as such will burn the >> vegetation. It can even dry the trees. So, mule dung will have to be first >> treated or composted and then returned to the soil. Even then, excess >> nutrition will have impact on local flora and will promote more weed flora. >> Regarding garbage collection and cleaning by the EDCs and pilgrim >> volunteers, it is just a redistribution of garbage from the walkways to >> other places. The so called collection and recycling of polythene garbage >> at Rishikesh takes place only once in a while. More dangerous is the >> developement activities at Ghangharia. Most of the hoteliers are >> constructing their upper stories in cement. There are also departmental >> constructions taking place using cement and stone. The Sikh Regiment is >> concreting the walkway at Ghanghariya. These have resulted in choking of >> the root system and hence drying of the Abies spectabilis trees all along >> the path at Ghanghariya. And all this happening in a Reserved Forest area. >> If the forest department or anybody say anything against all these, they >> are just treated as 'anti-development', 'pseudo-environmentalists', etc. >> There is no support from the pilgrim community. There are some volunteers >> who clean the walkways, but these volunteers are just a few compared to the >> large amount of environmentally-unfriendly tourists. We cannot stop the >> pilgrimage as it is a matter of religion and faith. We can only educate the >> pilgrims to be eco-friendly. Nature has helped by restricting tourism to >> only six months in a year and also thanks to landslides enroute which makes >> the journey even tougher. Some pilgrims even walk from Rishikesh till >> Hemkund Sahib. May pilgrims want to do the trek on foot, but they are not >> able to do so because of physical reasons, but they also have the full >> right to visit their shrine of faith. Going uphill on a rope way to such >> great altitudes defiinitely has problems of high altitude sickness, but if >> they stay only for an hour or so and immediately return after darshan to >> Govindghat, then it would be fine. >> So, in short let us be clear that tourism/pilgrimage is not going to stop >> and neither can be restricted. So, let us try to make it more eco-friendly >> and give more facilities to the pilgrims to help them make their trip >> impact-free. May be we have to sacrifice some land and flora so that the >> remaining area is left unaffected. Let us hope that the ropeway and chopper >> services will help in this endeavour. >> But I see that no one has spoken about the greater trouble- the dam >> proposed and under construction in Bhyundar valley. >> You all may ask that I am a forest officer and along with other forest >> officers still not able to do anything?!! Let me inform you that any forest >> officer is just a small servant of the public. He/she can only advice the >> public on the pros and cons, but it is the public who has to take a >> decision. Just give your support to the forest guard and see the difference >> he can make. In spite of all pressures and criticisms, they try to perform >> and do their best for the benefit of nature and in turn humanity. But the >> reality is that the public alienates the forest department and its staff >> thinking that they have come from a different world to harass the public. >> Somebody could volunteer to conduct a survey and find out who the real >> beneficiaries of the pilgrimage are - the pilgrims, tour operators, >> villagers, muleteers and shopkeepers from outside the state, contractors >> benefitting from the construction, politicians, shrine authorities, >> government departments, NGOs, etc? Whoever is the beneficiary there is only >> one entity which do not benefit rather suffer from these activities- that >> is biodiversity and the environment, what we call 'NATURE minus the >> destructive man'. >> >> On Thursday, October 18, 2012 3:49:11 PM UTC+5:30, Rajesh Sachdev wrote: >> >>> Centre approves Hemkunt Sahib ropeway project >>> >>> *CHANDIGARH:* For convenience of the pilgrims, the Centre government >>> has given its approval for ropeway from Gurdwara Gobind Dham to Hemkunt >>> Sahib. The project will cost around Rs 75 crore and expected to finish in >>> 2014 before the commencement of Hemkunt Sahib yatra in summers. >>> >>> In the first phase of the project, the ropeway will be operational till >>> Gurdwara Gobind Dham which will be later extended to Gobind Ghat. At >>> present, the pilgrims can also commute from Gobind Ghat to Gobind Dham >>> through chopper services which cost Rs 3,500 per person. >>> >>> Hemkunt Sahib is one of the most revered places in Sikhism where tenth >>> Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh meditated before his incarnation as the Sikh >>> guru. Every year, the doors of Hemkunt Sahib open for the Sikh pilgrims on >>> June 1 who can visit till October 5. >>> >>> Later, the Gurdwara is kept closed during the winters as the >>> environmental conditions are not suitable for human visit and survival as >>> the gurdwara is located at an altitude of 4,632.96 metres (15,200.0 ft). >>> >>> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/**news/Centre-approves-Hemkunt-** >>> Sahib-ropeway-project-.html<http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/Centre-approves-Hemkunt-Sahib-ropeway-project-.html> >>> >>> -- >>> Regards >>> Rajesh Sachdev >>> https://www.facebook.com/**leopardguy<https://www.facebook.com/leopardguy> >>> https://www.facebook.com/**groups/indianflora/<https://www.facebook.com/groups/indianflora/> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >> >> >> >> > > -- > > > > -- sushant --
