The National junior skiing championship games are slated to be held on February 19 at Auli for which the preparations are being made. However, uncertainty looms over the event because the snow on Auli slope is not adequate enough for holding the skiing championship. With the date of event approaching near, a technical team of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam is here preparing a report which will be submitted to higher authorities.
The higher altitutde areas of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are covered in snow with competitive snow sports events being held there. However, this year, Auli did not receive the quantity of snowfall which was expected which has become a cause for concern for the organisers of the national level games slated to be held at Auli in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. In the previous year too, the national junior skiing championship was slated to be held in Uttarakhand but the organisers could not hold the event due to absence of snow at Auli.
This year, the national level games were originally slated to be held at Auli on February 12 but in view of the Vidhan Sabha 2017 elections being held in the state, the date of the event had to be rescheduled with the various competitive skiing events now slated to be held here from February 19 to 21. However, with the weather not being as desired, the level of snow at Auli at present is still not adequate enough to hold the competitive event planned. The snow falling on the Auli slope is melting shortly after falling. Though there have been several spells of snowfall at Auli this year, the absence of proper snowfall the organisers are now facing a problematic situation considering the inadequate quantity of snow and the competitions slated to start from February 19.
Observers point out that during the South Asian Federation (SAF) Winter Games held at Auli during 2010-11, crores of rupees had been spent to purchase snow making machines but these machines have so far proved to be little more than show-pieces. Till date, these machines have not been used to make snow as purportedly intended. With the date of the national level junior skiing championship approaching closer, a technical team from the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam is in Auli these days checking the situation to prepare a report to be submitted to higher officials. It now remains to be seen whether the weather will favour the event organisers and bring enough snow to hold the competition at Auli as planned.