The Doors Of River Rafting Has Been Closed In Rishikesh

Rishikesh is the nerve center for all the adventure water sports in the country. Whether we talk about white river rafting or paragliding, all the adventure lovers literally worship Rishikesh to satiate their love for adventure.

But it was a strong heart-breaking news that henceforth all the water sports activities are banned in Rishikesh as per the High-Court order. The reason that High-Court has reiterated is: All the water activities have been continued for a long time without any standard safety measures. 

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Factors High Court is concerned about: 

1. Performing water sports activities without any standard measures are like throwing people into danger.

2. It is affecting the quality of water source. 

3. Ganga is known for its purity and considered as a most sacred place. But people, are indulged drugging there and littering the river which ultimately results in impurity of the Ganga. That’s why High Court took this big step of banning all the sports activities in the Uttarakhand.

Negative Impact:

The adventure sports companies have been affected by this ban. Kiran Todaria, President of the Indian Association of Professional Rafting Outfitters said,” It’s an industry that provides indirect job to more than 10,000 families.”

Source From: Hindustan Times

 

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Till date, High Court has not implemented any law against the water sports activities in Uttarakhand and said that  “The state government cannot be oblivious to its duties to regulate and restrict the unauthorized activities. The white river rafting is a serious sport. Paragliding is equally dangerous if not regulated. The water sports in big lakes like Tehri Dam can prove fatal. These are required to be regulated”.

Source From: Hindustan Times

So this imparts that the ban is not permanent as the order said “This can only be permitted to be managed by the highly trained professionals. The river beds cannot be leased out for a song. There has to be a transparent procedure for inviting the applications after fixing the minimum rates for using the water. The state government cannot permit the use of rivers without fixing reasonable charges. The tourism must be promoted but it is required to be regulated. The sports for pleasure cannot be permitted to end in disaster”.

Source From- Hindustan Times

 

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We need to calm down the hunger for adventurous water sports in Rishikesh. But don’t lose hope as Many adventurous things are still left in Rishikesh such as:

1. Jumpin Heights is still in operation. You can still have memories of Bungy Jumping, Flying Fox.

2. The Yoga Capital of India, Rishikesh has a lot of Ashrams and places to explore and find the real peace.

The final conclusion still awaits from the High Court.

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FAQ's

Q- Is river rafting permanently banned in Rishikesh?
A- No, it is just banned temporary and the guidelines of the court will tell the final decision.

Q- This ban is for protecting the purity of Ganga?
A- Yes

Q- What all things can be done apart from river-rafting?
A- Bungy Jumping, giant Swing, Flying Fox and can explore many ashrams in Rishikesh.

Q- The PIL for banning river rafting in Rishikesh was filed by?
A- Hari Om Kashyap filed the PIL