Category Archives: Environment

Jun26

To cross a mountain

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Mayank Susngi

In the Upper Seraj Valley, culture intertwines with traditions and life is dominated by hundreds of deities nestled in the serene lap of the Himalayas. Only a person who has travelled into the interiors of the Himalayan region can comprehend what life here has to offer. I’ve been privileged to work as an intern with My Himachal under Mr. Payson Stevens and it has sparked a change in the way I perceive my life and witnessed firsthand how compassion and dedication can lead to a fruitful existence.

Life is but a travel…a journey towards enlightenment as per Buddhist philosophy…my work began in Shimla where I took on the role of a photojournalist sating my passion for photography and honing my writing skills at the same time. 10 days later, I shifted base to a remote village called Jibhi in the Upper Seraj Valley, Kullu District; situated at a height of around 6000 feet, mountains collapse in on this small village encompassing it on all sides livened by friendly and inviting people; atithi devo bhava still exists! I began working under Mr. Payson’s guidance…first documenting, data basing and photographing a rural health camp organized by My Himachal which saw us and a team of doctors from Jibhi CHAI trek to remote villages in dire need of healthcare.

Hospitals here are few and far apart and healthcare, especially among kids is neglected. Interacting with the kids at the schools was a memorable experience…the reality here is a stark contrast to the lives we live…a 5*5 feet room houses 50 kids and a primary school of 200 students has just two teachers. Toilets aren’t available and hence the students are forced to defecate in the open…add to this an inadequate diet and some having to walk around 8 km a day to and fro school…I reminisce about my own childhood…hard but no comparison…their happy and bumbling faces gave no inkling of the problems they face and the smiles turned into grins as I shot them…it was like capturing sunshine without the ghastly flare…

There is a chronic water shortage in these areas. Due to global warming, the sources have dried up and rainfall and snowfall has become sparse. Government supplied pipes are rendered useless due to empty sources and the villagers have to rely on more traditional sources of water such as baudi’s which is a ground water system. My major task during the internship was to visit villages with shortages and interview a group of villagers, survey and photograph the landscape and vegetation so as to establish the ground realities of the water situation there and estimate the topography of the area to simplify the planning and construction process. I did extensive research on ground water recharging, planning and techniques for future reference as well. I visited a total of 15 villages along with the field manager of MH, Mr. Padam Singh often trekking up rough trails to reach villages isolated from civilization …an alternate world of sort…no roads connect them…mobile signals are rendered lifeless…what’s enlivened though are the skies…beautiful stretches of blue on mountainous backdrops with mists swirling in an out of your vision and the true aroma of a rural Indian village.

Life here is self sustained with little need for outside interference or modernity…in fact modernity only helps killing the essence of such a life…what needs development though is the healthcare and education facilities which My Himachal is trying to address. In addition to these projects, I worked on a rural tourism initiative, visiting home-stays and hotels…surveying the properties and photographing them to be put up on the RTNE website.

The entire internship has been a magnanimous learning experience and I’ve been extremely fortunate to work under Mr. Payson who I’ve learnt a lot from. Working on editing a PSA was fun and has helped my understanding and appreciation of editing which has helped me decide my career path in the future…

The eye does not see…it’s the brain that feeds the blind spot…different people perceive things differently…my eyes have been sensitized and the whites have separated from the blacks…I see clearer…Today’s the day and age of social networking…yet cities are unsocial, crowded, polluted and very impersonal. Discos, parties, intoxicants-all a sham…billions of people mere consumers controlled by a handful of families. One person can’t make a difference to the world…let’s not be naive about that…you can however work within your own community…if every village is self sufficient with a bustling economy…there’s no need for the globe to become an urban metallic mesh…

Oh, how easy it is to write…but to feel strongly enough for a cause to put it to practice is a diverging road with hallucinations hindering your sight…I’ve found my path during my short stay at MH…I can only hope others find theirs as well…!

I’ve crossed mountains…literally and figuratively…the Everest of my mind lies conquered and as Micheal Vince once said “Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by its breathtaking moments”

Photograph and quote of leader: “The reality of rural India is an enormous contrast to the privileged life that students at SIMC experience. It’s heartening to have students come and work with us and have their horizons broadened.”

Jun18

Symbiosis Media Institute Interns complete My Himachal Field Projects

Posted on June 18, 2010 by

Symbiosis Media Institute Interns complete My Himachal Field Projects

Seraj Valley-Kullu: Two first year undergraduate students from reputed Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC, Pune) completed a six-week internship starting May working with My Himachal in the rural Upper Seraj Valley of Kullu District.

Dushyant Kumar and Maynak Susngi, SIMC students were involved with a number of My Himachal projects which included video documentation of the My Himachal Health Mela, 2010.

Two short PSA-like videos, The Work Continues and Don’t Forget Us, on My Himachal child healthcare efforts working with Jibhi CHAI/Lady Willingdon Hospital were produced.

The interns shot and edited the health mela video PSAs working under the direction of Payson Stevens, Advisory Board member My Himachal.

Working in collaboration with Padam Singh, My Himachal Manager, Dushyant and Mayank also hiked to remote villages and did surveys on two new projects; one focused on gathering written and photographic documentation on the quality of tourist accommodations (hotels, guest cottages, homestays) in the Upper Seraj Valley to support livelihood development in the tourism sector and the other project did surveys in the higher villages so as to assess chronic water shortages and awareness related global warming issues.

“We are under the impression that impacts of climate change have already commenced in Himachal Pradesh,” says Payson, leader of the My Himachal rural water recharge project. “There has been a great deal of variability in weather and monsoon conditions these last few years. Higher villages, especially those without sufficient green cover, are suffering from lack of water. The residents of a number of these villages are now forced to travel 1-3 km each way to get their daily water.

We’re hoping to initiate a My Himachal Water Recharge Pilot (WRP) to see whether traditional and modern techniques can help recharge the micro-water catchments for these villages and help alleviate the problem,” says Payson.

My Himachal advisors, Sanjeeva Pandey and Jessica Wallack, assisted Payson in the development of the survey questions along with input from the NGOs GrassRoots (Uttarakand) and Arghyam (Bangalore). Mayank helped Padam Singh in gathering data from 11 different villages as part of the WRP.

Dushyant assisted Padam in the data collection and photographic documentation for the tourism project visiting 14 accommodations.

Though the My Himachal intern program is in its fourth consecutive year, however, this was the first year SIMC student interns were mentored by the organisation.

Earlier students from the prestigious SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai (SPJIMR Mumbai) have interned with My Himachal at Kullu and Shimla.

Sep6

Impressions of Working on Nature Conservation in Himachal Pradesh

Posted on September 6, 2009 by Payson Stevens

Impressions of Working on Nature Conservation in Himachal Pradesh

The issues surrounding the protection of a large area (754 km2) like the unique ecosystem of the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) are varied and complex. One of the primary problems is convincing rural, poor village communities of the value in protecting areas which have traditionally been used as a livelihood resource. The topic has been an on-going issue for national parks and sanctuaries throughout India.

This article will share a personal perspective around working on these issues where I have been involved as an advisor to GHNP and living in a rural Kullu Valley for part of each year since 2003.

In 2000, Sanjeeva Pandey, the first director of GHNP, invited me to participate in developing strategies for sustainable livelihood activities with local communities. I spent a month trekking in the Park going through two main valleys, the Sainj and Tirthan, following their rivers. Compared to my hiking in America, there were virtually no tourists on the trails. An Ecozone adjacent to GHNP (250 km2) was also set aside as a transition area, as it was the region of traditional village communities with over 14,000 inhabitants.

The Forest Department (FD) wanted to encourage locals to become stakeholders in GHNP and programs were developed. These included helping in the establishment of a local NGO; micro-credit financing for women; training in alternative livelihoods such as working in forest nurseries (cultivating trees, shrubs, medicinal herbs), developing vermicomposting (purchased for FD nurseries); and developing local products for a wider market (rajama/red beans, apricot seed oil).

We began training young village men in trekking skills to develop jobs in ecotourism. Friends from the US and Germany came to GHNP and were very supportive giving constructive feedback so the men could learn their trade. This provided some men with more consistent work and helped develop GHNP-related livelihoods. Friends of GHNP was created to develop the Park’s extensive website as well as educational materials (posters, brochures, GHNP branding, videos). A Kullu tour company, Sunshine Himalayan Adventures, further trained the local men and marketed the Park using the internet.

These activities in the first years of the Park’s opening, helped some locals change their attitudes about GHNP and the value of nature conservation. In 2003 my wife, the writer Kamla K. Kapur, and I decided we wanted to live in India and with the help of Kullu friends we established a life for ourselves near the Park.

I continued working with GHNP and locals, trekking over 1,200 km with Sanjeeva in GHNP. But actually living in the region exposed me to the serious hardships of many poor villagers experienced. It was obvious how difficult it was for them to be concerned about protecting the Park, when getting enough to eat, having sufficient firewood to cook and stay warm, and dealing with a pervasive lack of health care were the immediate and crucial concerns. A big shift occurred when a young pregnant woman from a remote, higher village sadly died from a breach birth near our village. Talking to locals about health care, I discovered that it was not readily available with the exception of a more distant government hospital in Banjar and a small surgery clinic in Jibhi run two weekends a month by Lady Willington Hospital (LWH).

Kamla and I met Drs. Shelia and George Varghese from LWH and we started a health mela program to reach the local villages. In 2006 Avnish Katoch an NRI living in the US, contacted me about starting an NGO to help improve the quality of life and protect the environment of Himachal Pradesh. We set up My Himachal with a small group of NRIs, and it was registered as a non-profit organization in the US and later as an NGO in HP. The Kullu Health Mela project was expanded through the donations of friends in the US and has become an on-going part of MH’s activities. Working with Indian and foreign doctors, especially Drs. Jeph & Kaaren Mathias from New Zealand, data has been collected on child nutrition and malnutrition. Local women were also trained as nutritional workers for their villages. Our surveys have shown high percentages of persistent childhood malnutrition with all the troubling impacts on physical and cognitive development.

My Himachal has expanded its health programs in the past two years to include support for local nature conservation and education. MH has also brought in Indian and foreign student volunteers who have worked on ecotourism development and job creation, including MBA students at the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (Mumbai). We are expanding our network of foreign advisors in national park and community development, and rural economics. We also interact with other environmental NGOs on watershed conservation and ecotourism issues. My Himchal has taken over the responsibility for maintaining the GHNP website and is currently updating it as a prime source of Park information. With the recent notification of GHNP’s placement on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List, there is even more MH focus on support for the Park.

Aware of the enormous impacts of climate change and global warming, MH is gearing up for projects which will use our ground teams to survey and interact with rural communities to better understand their preparedness for all the enormous impacts that will occur in Himalayan regions over the next 5-10 years. These include glacial recession and water availability (for farming irrigation, watermills, hydel projects, etc.), variability in monsoon arrival and intensity, flooding and drought, shifts in the growing ranges of agricultural product (e.g. apples and other important HP fruit), increasing forest fires, and both insect pest and disease vectors moving into warming, higher elevations. Many of these problems have already begun in HP.

The ground teams My Himachal have developed lay the foundation for us to collaborate with villagers, friends, and associates in different areas of HP. This will further our goal to both uplift the people and protect the unique Himalayan environment of this beautiful state.

For more information:

My Himachal: www.myhimachal.com

GHNP: www.greathimalayannationalpark.com

Payson R. Stevens is an American trained in the earth sciences and art. For over 25 years he was involved with working with NASA, NOAA, and the USGS on global change issues. He lives half the year, with his Indian wife, in a remote area of the Kullu Valley, where he paints, writes, and does seva work. More of his artwork can be seen at www.energylandscapes.com

The author and his wife, Kamla K. Kapur (www.kamlakkapur.com)

Apr26

Great Himalyan National Park: a sorry saga of eco-tourism

Posted on April 26, 2009 by

Great Himalyan National Park: a sorry saga of eco-tourism

ghnp

Not many of you have ever heard of Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP). A piece of 765 sq-km area of land offers a vast range of tourism varieties to those seeking refreshing and adventurous break from their routine work. Far from busy and noisy life of cities, about 60-km from Kullu town, GHNP is a perfect place for getting feel of well deserved outing. Ironically even after its existence in 1984 the park has failed to witness desired attraction, as far as tourism is concerned.

GHNP, comprising the area of watersheds of Jiwa, Sainj, and Tirthan rivers was selected under the eco-tourism policy in May 2001 with other 5 locations in state. The policy was launched with much hope but with little result. Observations showed that the eco-tourism attraction has not much helped to enhance the tourist influx here. In fact the lack of publicity and soft approach in implementing the policy has failed to serve the desired result.

Initially when GHNP was created the major goal was to develop it as a national park. The goal was to convince the locals to preserve the environment and develop a sense of self conservation among villagers around the park.

The eco-tourism has not achieved its potential at GHNP despite it offers various attractions ranging from adventure sports like rock climbing, rappelling, river crossing, and fishing in the eco zone and long treks into the GHNP for bird watching, wildlife spotting and long nature trails. The treks are selected on the basis of the capabilities of tourists. Interestingly the tourists can have the feel of local culture and customs thanks to local fairs galore which are celebrated by villagers with much fanfare and enthusiasm.

No doubt, GHNP is an ideal location for eco-tourism. The 25 trekking guides who are locals are professionally trained for the eco zone. All the porters and cooks are also locals. There is a nursery which grows medicinal herbs so that the villagers who depended on the forest resources of the now protected area of the park can actually use the plants from nursery and grow their own medicinal plants for sustenance. In addition to this, entry in GHNP is permitted only with a local guide. This is done to restrict the number of people entering the region and also so that the local residents benefit from tourism in that area.

Moreover the home stays the main catchy feature of eco-tourism, is another untapped potential here. Inquires shows that many tourists want to experience the local culture and accustom and in that case there is no better way than home stays.

But despite all this, only a few locals are being benefited from the tourism that is being generated in the area. There is urgent need to build a model in which locals should have an opportunity to sell home made products like shawls, handicrafts and medicinal products to the tourists. Also building on the business model for home stays in the area will bring a tremendous benefit. Currently there is only one home stay which always remains overbooked. The eco-tourism will really be viable in park if a single governing body is created which has the authority to take the decisions for the park. Ironically, the BTCA model is not working as it was supposed to be. BTCA formerly known as SAHARA is formed for the betterment of locals.

In fact the progress has been slow and the true potential of GHNP is really not being exploited. Although responsible tourism is the key to eco tourism, awareness levels of GHNP have been very low which is a major problem here.

Interestingly, Divya Sawant and Gautam Bhatia the students of SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, currently on their Development of Corporate Citizenship program with My Himachal, a NGO are working on a plan to develop a sustainable model for eco tourism in the GHNP area. Their immediate plan is to develop a marketing strategy for eco-tourism in GHNP.

ghnp8

Says Divya and Gautam, there has been hardly any promotion for this location and also the present efforts are towards treks inside the park for the extreme trekkers when there is actually scope for the park to be a family retreat also with activities in the eco zone. Accessibility to the region is another issue. The roads are poor due to persistent rain and poor maintenance, points out Divya and Gautam who are currently doing extensive field survey and analysis of situation on the hand involving interactions with villagers residing there.

They have met the locals staying within the eco-zone the western boundary of the park inhabited by 160 villages. While disclosing their plans the students say, we talked to the villagers living there in order to gauge what they feel about their source of sustenance being converted into a protected park. We wanted to know on how they have adapted to this change and in what way have the local governing bodies helped their employment opportunities and income generation activities.

The villagers in the area were used to depend on medicinal plants from the park for their livelihood but since the park have become a protected area, they now have to rear goats for their living. Most women are part of the Women Saving and Credit Group an initiative by BTCA. The villagers outlook towards life in the valley was quite defeatist and they were resigned to the belief that their life would not improve. On further probing about the initiatives taken by the successive state governments, they seemed sceptical and have lost faith in governing bodies.

Judama Devi, a member of the Women’s Saving and Credit Group was used to depend on medicinal plants from the park for her family’s livelihood. However since the park has become a protected area, she along with her unemployed husband now rear goats to make their both ends meet. The family have lost faith in state government and BTCA as well. They seem to have the opinion that nothing is really being done to support them and even the initiatives being taken by BTCA are not working well. Judama Devi further says, BTCA currently offered locals the option to purchase medicinal plants from the nursery so that the villagers could grow them on their own. But the soil was infertile and the plants were not really growing in and around their house. So finally the benefit was nil, she rues.

Another sufferer, Harilal from Dhar village is pessimistic over the present initiatives. The BTCA members have not visited Dhar which is one of the more accessible villages in the area, he laments. According to Mr. Gopal the current in-charge of BTCA, despite some of the initiatives taken so far, the time to get approval for each initiative is very long. The most proposals are lost in government offices and the proposals are actually never implemented, rues Gopal who is also the Panchayat Pradhan.

Awareness about GHNP is another major roadblock, inform Divya and Gautam. GHNP is not even listed as a tourist destination on the Himachal Tourism Website. Being one of the largest national parks in the country one would think that it would be given the necessary importance to bring responsible to tourist to the area.

Providing alternate means of sustenance to locals who previously depended on the forest also is an uphill task especially since most villagers are losing faith in the present system and further time passing by without any action is not helping, point out Divya and Gautam. The handloom, handicrafts, medicinal plants in the eco zone etc are few of the employment opportunities which are being explored, but some strong decisions need to be taken accompanied with an implementing action plan is the need of the hour, they suggest .

Developing small scale tourism in GHNP while striving to have as little impact on the fragile and pristine protected areas of GHNP is one of our primary objectives, they reveal. Educating the travelers while directly benefiting the social stability, economic development and political empowerment for the local communities (Community Based Ecotourism) will be another key objective of our study, they inform.

Based on their surveys and study, Divya and Gautam suggest few measures to improve the situation at GHNP. They Say, improving accessibility to the region is most crucial one. The state government should look at starting a special bus service for travellers to the park which would provide convenience, comfort and ease of luggage space for the tourists. Improving awareness is another thing that can help lot to popularise the park all over. The developing of comprehensive and extensive website as the internet is the major source for information for most tourists these days. The need is also there to create new independent governing body comprising of government officials, local NGO and representatives from local villages to act as the decision maker for the region and help the overall development of the region.

This independent governing body which would not only provide a channel for local villagers to raise their concerns but having locals on the board may build trust in the villages. It will also ensure the training and skill development of the locals; provide avenues for locals to sell their home made products and co-ordinate home stays etc to bring direct benefit to the locals.

Ironically, Divya and Gautam have also done awareness survey on GHNP, in which only 23 people out of 80 were heard about it.

Feb2

World Wetlands Day at Rewalsar

Posted on February 2, 2009 by

World Wetlands Day at Rewalsar

folksong_wetland_day Rewalsar: WWF India and State Council for Science, Technology and Environment organised a function at Rewalser Lake in association with Centre for Sustainable Development (CENSUD) and My Himachal to celebrate World Wetlands Day. Wetlands Day is celebrated to commemorate the signing of Ramsar Convention in 1971.

waste_collection About 150 students of five school viz GSSS Rewalsar, GSSS Chowk, Unity Public School Rewalsar, Trisangam Public School Rewalsar and Sarswati Vidya Mandir Rewalsar. Various programmes like waste collection, folk song, folk dance/play were organised on the theme “ Wetlands/Water Conservation”. The function started with Waste Collection Competition. All the participants collected waste material from around the lake and was segregated into biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.

After that Vandna Thapliyal, State Director, WWF India welcomed chief guest BD Siyul, Conservator of Forests, Praveen Sharma, Member, Media Advisory Committee, Pradeep Thakur, DFO Sundernagar, Kunal Satyarthi, DFO Mandi and other dignitaries present on this occasion. She highlighted the importance of wetlands in ecology and stressed on the need of collective efforts from Govt. Bodies, NGO’s and masses to save these ecologically fragile ecosystems.

BD Siyul in his inaugural address said that Rewalsar is a religiously important place for Hindus, Sikhs and Budhists therefore it becomes even more important to save this lake being a part of our cultural heritage. Govt. is making all efforts to save this heritage but it is not possible without active participation of public in this effort. So people from every field should come forward in this pious cause. Moreover these lakes are also important for tourism and generate income for the local people.

Ravi Sharma, Scientific Officer, State Council for Science, Technology and Environment told that about three thousand eco-clubs are being started in Himachal Pradesh whereby three lakh students will involved in conservation and environment protection activities. He further told that a grant of 81 Lakhs has been received from Union Government which shall be spent on funding the activities of these eco-clubs.

Sanjeev Sharma, Sr. Project Officer, WWF India highlighted the activities of WWF and told about ‘Save Wetlands Sky High’ project which covers all wetlands 3,000 mts above sea level in five countries viz India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan. All these wetlands are important for our ecosystem as they are source to major rivers in these countries making it important to conserve and protect these lakes.

Praveen Sharma, Member, Media Advisory Committee , stressed on the need to spread awareness regarding importance of wetlands, lakes and rivers. He further said that disposal of muck is a big issues which is endangering our lakes and rivers and it becomes very important to adopt scientific disposal of muck. The problem of wetlands can be solved only by involvement of masses in conservation activities.

Thereafter Chief Guest gave away prizes to different participants in waste collection, folk song, folk dance/play.

Programmes ended with vote of thanks by Jitender Verma, President, Centre for Sustainable Development. He thanked all the dignitaries and participants for making this programme a success. He said that we need to carry this work forward and should contribute in conservation in whatever manner we can.

Award winners:

Waste collection and segregation Competition

GSSS Rewalsar
GSSS Chowk
Sarsawati Vidya Mandir

Folk Song ( Theme: wetlands, lakes and water conservation)

Saraswati Vidya Mandir
Unity Public School Rewalsar
GSSS Rewalsar

Folk Dance/Play ( Theme: wetlands, lakes and water conservation)

GSSS Chowk
GSSS Rewalsar
Unity Public School Rewalsar

Oct5

Envi-Savours Environmental Mela

Posted on October 5, 2008 by

Envi-Savours Environmental Mela

On October 4, 2008 Envi-Saviors, a Upper Banjar Valley-based NGO, held its first Environmental Mela. It was part of Himachal Pradesh Wildlife and Environmental Week. The event was held at the Jibhi government school and included 1-10^th classes with 460 students in the audience.

A contest was held in which 53 girl and boy students from the school participated. Each student had 10 minutes to read or recite an essay or speech on the environment. There were three winners in two groups: 6^th-8^th class and 9-10^th class. One of the presentations included a kala jatha/street theater skit by 13-14 year old students. Topics included water pollution, forest protection, protecting nature, and global warming.

The six winners received English-Hindi dictionaries and ten consolation prizes which were donated by My Himchal.

My Himachal Advisory Board member Payson R. Stevens gave a short talk on global warming and the impacts that will affect HP. He also showed images of the Earth from space from his book, Embracing Earth: New Views of Our Changing Planet.

Jul1

It’s a dam(n) bad situation in Kullu valley

Posted on July 1, 2006 by Payson Stevens

It’s a dam(n) bad situation in Kullu valley

Publication:Times Of India Chandigarh;
Date:Jul 1, 2006;
Section:Times Chandigarh;
Page Number:31
By Vandana Shukla TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chandigarh: Dams are fast becoming a cause for concern in the Kullu valley. They may not be as big as Sardar Sarovar, but, construction of a number of hydel projects are disturbing the valley’s fragile ecological balance. The power produced by these projects may benefit denizens of Delhi and othergrowing metros. But, the locals will have to bear the brunt of the development. That includes, less water at their disposal, and, threat to a number of endangered species.

The focus has returned to the cumulative environmental impacts of multiple hydels. Ironically, this has happened after the Himachal Pradesh high court banned construction of any hydel project on the Tirthan river in June this year. The court directed J P Negi, Principal Secretary, Non Conventional Energy Resources, to issue a notification to the effect. Strangely, the notification applies only to construction on Tirthan river, leaving its tributaries open to environmental abuse.

Since a number of mini hydel companies have applied for MOUs in Banjar valley region, locals are concerned that tributaries of Tirthan like Jibhi and Hirub Nala, the only watershed left in the Kullu valley that has not been dammed, will also meet the same fate sooner than later. This means protecting only Tirthan river, without giving similar protection to its tributaries and catchment areas, will turn out to be a futile exercise in ecological terms.”You can’t just save the head and not the body. The nalas are part of one living ecosystem and must be saved together,” says Padam Singh of Save Seraj Tirthan Nala Committee.

The sensitive environment of the Tirthan river habitat needs to be protected as a complete watershed system. “This is not only for their intrinsic natural and human aspects, but as a baseline for future understanding of natural processes,” says Payson, an earth scientist based in the region. The region houses some endangered species like musk deer, Western Tragopan and Chir pheasant and has the rich wealth of very old Deodar and Horse Chestnut trees.

“We have appealed to the government to stop all construction, not only on Tirthan but on other rivers too. We don’t want a repeat of what happened with the Parvati Hydel project. Not only trees but people are uprooted, disturbing their social ecology,” says director, Sahara, Rajender Chauhan. According to him, Tirthan tributaries go through the Great Himalayan National Park. “The government does not allow people to enter the national park, but, plans to carry on construction inside it. We will not let this happen.”

DAMS BUILT FOR POWER

Beas and tributaries – Pandoh diversion dam Larjee ( 120 megawatt) Pong ( 600 MW) Parvati River Phase II dam( 800 MW) Phase I ( 600 MW) Sanij River ( 100 MW proposed)

ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS:

In 1925, the British government notified a ban on any hydel project on Tirthan river valley. In 1976, the Himachal Government notified to protect Trout Fisheries in Tirthan river and its watershed. Trout has historically been recognised in the Hirub and Jibhi nalas dating back to the 1925 notification.

Hirub Jibhi and Deodar Chestnut trees

View as MS Word file.