A trek away from disaster

On the night of 17 July, about 120 trekkers were stranded below the 14,000-foot high Hampta Pass in Himachal, without adequate shelter, clothing or food, in very adverse weather conditions, torrential rain and almost sub-zero temperatures. They were members of three groups whose trips were 'organised' by different trekking agencies. When the weather turned bad, the guides and tour leaders simply abandoned their charges and disappeared.

Had it not been for some other professional trekkers and locals who came to their aid, a tragedy like the Sahastra Tal episode in Uttarakhand earlier this year (in which nine trekkers died in similar conditions and for the same reasons) would have repeated itself. The Himachal government, especially the forest and tourism departments, have followed the usual SOP — keep mum, ignore the matter and it will soon become history and be forgotten. Which is convenient, except that it may repeat itself as a tragedy the next time.

The Hampta Pass incident raises some important questions. One, this trek is through the Inderkilla National Park, which was so notified in 2010. It is a protected area where entry is supposed to be regulated: did these trekkers have the permission of the forest department for the trek? It certainly does not appear likely, in which case the wildlife wing of the department was not doing its job.

What is the point of having a national park if any Tom, Dick and Harry can walk through it whenever they wish to? The Print reported that one of the travel agencies involved in this incident organises a trek to Hampta Pass every day, another does it every weekend!

Two, how were 120 people allowed in on a single day? This is a trek on a mountain going up to 14,000 feet, for God's sake, not Borivali railway station; such a number on a single trek on a single day is unheard of. I have been on this trek myself and can confirm that there is no place along its entire route which can accommodate the tents needed for so many people without causing immense environmental damage. The rubbish and human waste that these numbers would generate does not bear thinking about.

Three, and perhaps the most important in the long term: what mechanisms has the state government put in place for regulating trekking activities in the mountains, including: fixing carrying capacities of various treks, registering and vetting trekking companies, laying down the minimum criteria for their eligibility and for their field staff, notifying basic SOPs, equipment and safety precautions to be followed by them and their clients, ensuring employment of local people, and developing a mechanism for ensuring compliance? To the best of my knowledge there is no such prescribed regimen.

High-altitude trekking is a rapidly growing sector in Himachal; almost 50,000 trekkers visit Kullu valley alone every year. It is mostly an unregulated industry, with the government exercising little control over either the trekkers or the organisers. Friends of mine in the trade tell me that most of this activity/business is channelled through online/internet companies located outside the state advertising on Instagram, Facebook and similar platforms.

They have no experience,  expertise or knowledge of trekking in such conditions, they do not employ qualified guides or supervisors, they have no back-ups for medical or rescue contingencies. They simply make the online bookings, pocket 80 per cent of the money, and outsource the arrangements to local operators, washing their hands of any subsequent developments.

It is this kind of laissez faire attitude and business plan that is responsible of the Sahastra-type tragedy and for what happened at Hampta Pass. Trekking has become an irresponsible commercial operation, posing a danger to the environment as also to the trekkers themselves.

This outside monopoly is hurting the business and employment opportunities for local people, unlike in the rafting and para-gliding sectors, where it is local companies who organise these sports and provide manpower and equipment. The government should realise that it makes no sense for its natural advantages, features and environment to be exploited by outsiders who have pushed native operators to the fringes.

This has to change, especially if Himachal has to promote and position itself as an adventure sport destination. Trekking enthusiasts cannot be left to the mercy of these solely-for-profit operators who have no stakes in the state.

A similar situation used to prevail a couple of decades ago with the other two popular adventure sports — rafting and para-gliding. It took many accidents, deaths and court intervention before the state government stepped in to regulate these activities.

Now, there are comprehensive rules and SOPs which govern these sports, and the tourism department exercises strict oversight over them. It is time to do the same for trekking, with the additional involvement (if not primacy) of the forest department since all the trekking happens in forest areas.

The government should develop a comprehensive trekking policy and rules to address all the issues involved (mentioned above). In particular, every company/organiser engaged in this business should be compulsorily registered in the state; only local managers, guides, cooks, porters should be employed; the forest department should levy a charge/fee for every trekker; prior permission should be obtained for all treks; client-to-guide ratios should be fixed, the tour companies should be required to carry out proper medical screening of all applicants before accepting them for any arduous trek, organisers should be required to make full back-up arrangements (including rescue insurance) for medical and rescue situations for the more difficult treks.

According to a Times of India report dated 17 December 2022, as many as 150 trekkers have died between 2017 and 2022 in the Himalayas, and many are still missing; most of these incidents have happened in Himachal and Uttarakhand.

The forest and tourism departments also need to do some self-regulation; they have to be proactive in promoting this sport and ensuring its safety rather than merely reacting (most times not even that!) to events. I shall address this aspect in the second part of this blog next week.

Avay Shukla is a retired IAS officer and the author of Disappearing Democracy: Dismantling of a Nation and other works. He blogs at avayshukla.blogspot.com