Date:19/10/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/10/19/stories/2004101901912000.htm

National

Rallying to save the Himalayas

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 18. Timely intervention by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) — a global environmental organisation — managed to put a stop to the `ruin' of the Himalayas in the name of adventure when they persuaded car rallyists to change their route.

A major car rally, scheduled to pass through Tsokar, Staklung and other important wetlands of Ladakh, was forced to change its routes following a public opinion built by the WWF-India with its partners in Ladakh. The rally `Raid de Himalayas 2004' with an entourage of 87 vehicles was flagged off on October 7 but only after changing its earlier proposed route on a more ecologically sensitive area — the Leh-Manali Road.

The efforts yielded results after a series of meetings involving WWF-India's Leh Field Office team — led by Pankaj Chandan — the tour operators, the Forest and Tourism Department officers, the district administration of Leh, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and the Indian Army.

Pressure

The first major opposition to this rally was expressed during the Army Officers Ecology workshop, jointly organised by the WWF-India, the Field Research Laboratory and the Department of Wildlife Protection (J&K) in September.

A motion opposing the route of the rally around Tsokar, Staklung and Chushul was passed which was circulated to all concerned including the organisers.

However, with no positive response in sight, tremendous pressure was built upon the organisers. The State Cabinet Minister, Nawang Rigzin Johra; Jigmett Takpa, the regional wildlife warden of Ladakh along with the district administration of Leh and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council sent out letters to the organisers informing their decision on preventing the rally to pass through the wetlands.

Subsequently a team comprising WWF-India, the Department of Wildlife Protection and the tour operators of Ladakh along with the local media decided to be present at the entry point at Tsokar to make sure that the rally did not enter the area and instead took the Leh-Manali Road. As the rally reached the entry point on October 10, the rallyists faced a massive demonstration. Seeing the overwhelming concern for the mighty Himalayas, the participants assured the demonstrators that they would change the route and also keep to the tarred road. They also assured the protesters that the wetlands would never be used for rallies in the future.

According to a WWF-India spokesperson here, the general secretary of the Himalayan Motor Sports Association, Atul Honda, said that it was sheer ignorance that made them pick the rally route through the wetlands.