PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The river rafting season 2026-27 was officially launched at Shivpuri in Rishikesh on Wednesday, with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board distributing rafting licences to all registered rafting firms in the State. The initiative aims to standardise rafting operations, strengthen safety measures and promote adventure tourism while creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for local youth. Rafting activities will be conducted on rivers, including Ganga, Kali, Tons, Gori, Kosi, Alaknanda, Pinder, Saryu, Ramganga, Bhagirathi and Dhauliganga.
The principal secretary, Planning, Meenakshi Sundaram said that the licensing system would bring greater discipline and professionalism to the adventure tourism sector while helping ensure tourist safety and generate local employment. The tourism secretary Dheeraj Singh Garbyal said that the licences marked a new beginning for rafting firms and would help strengthen safety standards and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to youth. He said that the department had earlier started international-level Wilderness First Aid (WFA) and CPR training for rafting guides in collaboration with the Hanifl Centre and Aerie Backcountry Medicine (ABM), USA. A total of 700 guides are to be trained under the programme.
More than 300 rafting guides have already registered on the Tourist Guide Portal, which provides digital certification and identity cards and stores their training and work details. Direct contact and booking of guides through the portal will be introduced soon. Under the Uttarakhand River Rafting/Kayaking Rules, 2014, all registered firms have been granted temporary licences for 45 days from September 23. Firms can obtain permanent licenses after completing the prescribed process and paying the required fee.
