Plan afoot to develop Marhi as a tourist spot

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, March 20

A plan is being finalised to promote tourism at Marhi, a famous tourist spot between Gulaba and Rohtang in Manali. 

Marhi becomes accessible to tourists as a snow point in April before the Rohtang Pass is thrown open by the end of May. Tourists enjoy various snow activities but they suffer because of lack of basic amenities. Importantly, this area is under the supervision of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and without its  permission no construction or other activities can be undertaken there.

Eco-friendly market, parking lot

• Beautification work for Marhi is being undertaken. The work is expected to be completed before the beginning of the tourist season this year. 
• Construction of an eco-friendly market in Marhi has been completed, where all items needed by tourists will be available here. 
• A parking lot is also being constructed at Marhi as during the tourist season, the area faces the problem of traffic jams. 

As per the plan chalked out by Kullu DC Ashutosh Garg, the beautification of Marhi is being undertaken, which is likely to be completed before the beginning of the tourist season this year. 

Under the plan, the construction of an eco-friendly market at Marhi has been completed and 16 stalls have been constructed. The committee headed by the Manali SDM has already allotted these stalls to the beneficiaries. In this small but beautiful market, all items needed by the tourists will be available. 

The DC has directed the PWD to complete the remaining work of the eco-friendly market at the earliest before the start of the season. 

A parking lot is being constructed at Marhi. During the tourist season, due to a heavy influx of vehicles, there is always the problem of traffic jams. 

The sewage treatment plant has been made functional and electricity supply has been provided to it. In the event of power disruption, the Manali Tourism Development Council has sanctioned Rs 24 lakh to the Jal Shakti Department for generator sets for keeping the plant operational. The Jal Shakti Department has been asked to keep the plant running at all times.

The DC said that an amount of Rs 1.33 crore has been received from the government for the beautification of the area around Marhi. He added that 50 per cent amount had been released to the PWD so that all these works could be completed by the beginning of the season.

To ensure compliance of the orders of NGT, the DC had given instructions to the departments concerned to complete all these works before May 15.