In the 1980s, tour operator Avinash Kohli began exploring new business opportunities in the hills of Garhwal. He found great potential in the white water rafting business on the tidal waves of the river Ganga at Shivpuri, near the holy city of Rishikesh.
That was the first time that Kohli, with the help of some Americans, set up a rafting company— Wildlife Adventure. Within years, Shivpuri, an idyllic beach, became the Mecca of adventure sport.
Despite not getting any support from the government, Kohli guided the local youth to expand the rafting business, which has now grown to Rs 25-35 crores. According to an estimate, nearly 50,000 people are associated with the adventure sport business in Uttarakhand.
Yusaf Zaheer, for example, is the owner of Himalayan River Runners, which has an annual turnover of Rs 30-35 lakh. Zaheer organises white water rafting as well as beach camps at Shivpuri. He is also now organising rock climbing in the area and planning trekking tours.
A fortnight ago, however, the tourism business comprising nearly 109 rafting companies, which operate along the 70 km long stretch between Devprayag and Muni Ki Reti in Tehri district, came to a standstill following an agitation.
These operators were annoyed with the forest department for not having issued lease permits this season and for instead adopting the bidding process. Forest officials also expressed their helplessness, saying that the move to adopt the bidding process had been taken at the highest level in the government. For nearly one week, the adventure sport business remained suspended.
The owners of these companies met Chief Minister Ramesh P Nishank to air their various demands. Nishank gave them a patient hearing and pledged to resolve all issues, following which the companies resumed their business on 19th September.
The Ganga between Devprayag and Muni Ki Reti is considered to be an ideal location for adventure sport activity. Thousands of tourists, from home and abroad, gather here at the end of the monsoon season.
The main grouse of the adventure companies, mostly local ones, is what they say is 'government interference’ in a business that they have nurtured over the years with little or no government help.
Meanwhile, Deepak Bhatt, convener of the rafting companies’ association, has urged the government to issue a new policy for promoting adventure tourism in close association with local companies.
Despite the hullabaloo over the agitation, tour operators now say that they are expanding the adventure sport business elsewhere in the state. After the Ganga, these operators have identified other rivers like the Yamuna, Tons and Kali, where they have found good scope for rafting and rock climbing. fting is organised twice a year, between March-June and September-December.
These companies are now targeting corporate houses also. Significantly, 90 per cent of the business comes from India only. Only 10 per cent of the tourists come from abroad. "The government must help us in bringing more foreign tourists to Shivpuri," says Bhatt.
But Bhatt is confident that the adventure sport business will grow further in the near future.
BS
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