Monday, 01 November 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
Local activists and concerned citizens held a protest hike on the Jharipani trail on Sunday morning against the ongoing construction work by the state government on the hiking route from Jharipani to Mussoorie.
According to the activists, the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) has proposed to concretise the Jharipani trail which is famously known as the Kipling trail to encourage tourism in the area. The activists said that the said trail and the nearby area are rich in biodiversity, most of which are endemic. They opined that the concretised roads will lure more vehicles which will cause pollution and disturbance to the rich flora and fauna. “We just recently observed that the government has started the construction work on the trail which is quite disheartening. It is among a very few trekking trails which are away from traffic and pollution.
Once the government makes roads, vehicles will go through there every day which will disturb the ecosystem,” stated concerned citizen and member of Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD), Ruchi Singh Rao. She said that it is a hiking trail that is meant to be in its natural state. “Who goes for hiking or trekking on a concrete route? It does not make any sense. The government is talking about promoting avi-tourism here. Will the birds even stay or survive in such a chaotic ambiance?” questioned Rao.
Another CFGD member Himanshu Arora also questioned the use of JCB on the Jharipani route which is an eco-sensitive area. He said that they organised this protest hike to stage their protest against such actions of the government. He said that the protest hike was organised at very short notice on Sunday morning due to which not many activists could participate. However, the activists said that they will soon stage a massive protest against such destructive development works of the authorities in the Doon valley.
