To prevent another catastrophe like last year in Uttarakhand, the Union Tourism Ministry has decided to conduct a study to assess the carrying capacity of the existing and potential hotspots and pilgrimages aiming to regulate the flow of tourists and ensure a climatic-resilient tourism in the hill State.
The move comes quite late given that the tourist arrivals have over the years reached 25 million, almost two-and-a-half times Uttarakhand’s entire population of 10.8 million. Irregular tourism growth in the eco-fragile region is considered as one of the main reasons for the worst natural calamity which left many dead and disabled last year.
“It has been realised that there is a need of conducting a study to assess the carrying capacity of all the major and lesser known tourists hotspots — including places of pilgrimages of Uttarakhand for better planning in construction of infrastructure and other operational development activities to ensure its sustainable development,” said a senior official from the Tourism Ministry.
Besides, carrying capacity of the higher reach spots such as Char Dhams — Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, and Hemkund Saheb and Pirankaliyar — in the Himalayan State will also be conducted with an aim to regulate tourist flow.
“last year’s devastation in Badrinath has put a question mark on the existing guidelines related to environment, housing and building in the eco-fragile zones of the hill State. All the existing gaps will also be identified to do the needful,” the official said.
The study while recommending steps for implementing tourism development will also focus on land use management with a focus on maximising social benefits with futuristic projections for next 30 years.
The study spanning nine months will also focus on tourist hotspots such as Gaumukh, Harsil, Chopta, Auli, Valley of Flowers and Chakrata among many others which are already witnessing huge deforestation and developmental activities, the official said. But this has to be stopped, the official added. He added that the study would be the anchor of the master plan of the region to be prepared thereafter.
He pointed to a study by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) which said that the number of vehicles registered in Uttarakhand increased from 83,000-odd vehicles in 2005-06 to a whopping 180,000 by 2012-13, most of which were used to cater tourists.
However, it’s not only the unregulated tourist flow that has taken toll on the eco-fragile region. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had warned four years ago that the spate of more than 200 hydropower projects in the State could be catastrophic in the event of a flash flood.