Rafters regret lack of facilities

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Chaba (Shimla), January 11

There is not even a small “desi” toilet, leave alone a camping lodge or a hotel at the Pandoa-Chaba rafting point, where the 11th National Rafting Championship drew to a close today. This speaks volumes of how Himachal Pradesh is promoting adventure tourism and rafting in the Sutlej.

The coaches, river guides and organisers have no option, but to defecate in the open. The championship was sponsored by the HP Tourism and Civil Aviation and organised by the Flat and Drop White Water Federation (FDWW).

“Rafting in the Sutlej is a thrill. But the government has not created any facilities for adventure sports. We won four nationals, including the 11th nationals here today, represented India at the international championships, but there is no support from the government,” rued Gimner and Naveen Kumar, who led the HP team to win the 5-km-long down river race today.

“It is embarrassing when we tell our guests or participants to defecate in the open,” said Ramesh, a member of the federation and raft operator from the Thali village, whose company Sutlej Runners have been operating rafting in the Sutlej since 2000.

The HP Tourism Department has created rafting camping lodges at Jhiri and Pirdi for tourists and operators in the Beas in Kullu. But there is no toilet in the Sutlej between Chaba and Pandoa, the venue of the rafting championship, the participants said.

“We appreciate that the department is promoting rafting by organising the event but it needs to take care of basic infrastructure for rafting,” said Sikand Shaukat, secretary general, FDWWF.

The HPTDC ran its hot bath springs at the terminal point of rafting at Tatta Pani, but these have been abandoned due to the coming up of the Kol Dam there, said Harish Janartha, vice-chairman of the HPTDC.