In upholding the ban on Ganga “beach”
camps it had imposed earlier as a temporary measure to study the
implications, the National Green Tribunal is acting towards conservation
of the environment. But in allowing white water rafting to go on, the
tribunal is not seen to be serving its own objective of total
conservation of an important waterway and a lifeline. The tribunal tries
to explain away the half measure of closing the camp but keeping
tourism, particularly from the capital over the weekends, going on the
grounds that rafting does no damage to the environment.
The
fact is the Ganga is not being spoiled by tourism as much as myriad
other factors, including, crucially, industrial pollution. Blaming
“illegal” activities around the holy town of Rishikesh and accusing
young people, who dress more boldly these days and tend to mingle and
drink, of distracting sadhus and sants is a silly posture on the part of
religious zealots. Of course, the money earned from camps by way of
tourism fees is paltry compared to what damage visitors do to the river
in one of its more pristine parts as it descends from the Himalayas. The
NGT should be more concerned with what is happening downstream than in
the camps and suggest measures to clean up the river. This decision to
toy with tourism is too small a step.
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