How green was the valley

Since the mid-eighties, tourism has grown at an annual rate of 25 per cent due, mainly, to the trouble in Kashmir across Himachal Pradesh. For the valley, it has meant a slew of hotels in the past decade; nearly every house in the district8217;s four towns with a room and beds to spare has tacked up an accommodation sign. Kullu and Manali now have more than 750 hotels and tourist lodges, the construction material for which has been extracted from the valley8217;s natural resources, whether it is illegally-felled timber from its 1,200 sq km of forest cover, or stones quarried from the Beas river bed. Between 10-12 sq km of land is afforested annually to compensate for the increasing loss of full-grown trees.

When the rains come, much of the top soil is washed down from the mountains and deposited in the river bed, raising its height. While Rajiv Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer, Kullu Circle, is unwilling to admit there is large-scale deforestation, he does add that 8220;the density of forest cover has gone down steadily in the past 10-12 years.8221; The growth of horticulture and apple cultivation, says Kumar, has also contributed to soil erosion, since the roots of apple trees are not strong enough to hold soil.

Deforestation has also played havoc with the natural weather cycle. In 1995, the valley witnessed unusually high rainfall, of over 740 mm in just three months, compared to the annual average of 800 mm in other years. 8220;There is no specific time period when the floods occur. In 1995, they happened in September, in 1997, in July, and last year, they came in October,8221; says Arun Gosain, a tour operator whose home was washed away in 1995.

Though deforestation is the main reason for soil erosion, the blasting of tunnels into the mountains for a series of hydroelectric projects on the Beas has also loosened the top soil. For example, there are six tunnels which have been blasted into the Sainj hills for the 126 MW Larji project over a short distance, which has made the area susceptible to landslides.People in the valley are also engaging in another exploitative and illegal activity: quarrying of the river bed. Stones are lifted out of the river to be ground into concrete for buildings. Constant quarrying has unsettled the Beas bed so much that it changes its course every few years.

And because it is easier, quarrying and mining mostly undertaken by private contractors happen near the river banks, which has led to the river bed forming a hump in the centre. If you8217;re in Kullu town, you8217;ll see huge mounds of stone cutting the Beas into two mud-water ribbons; the water flows more to the sides, and all it takes is a day of heavy rain for the river to spill onto dry land.

Most of the illegal quarrying activity goes unchecked, as do the encroachments on the river banks. Under a ban by the Shimla High Court in 1995, no constructions were allowed within half-a-kilometer of the river on either side. However, the Kullu valley, which has a population of about four lakh, is only 2.5 km at its widest, so the ban was lifted. Today, there are hotels, pucca houses, entertainment centres and even a Maruti service station, barely 10 metres from the river. 8220;The only way to stop rampant constructions, especially in Manali, is to ban it,8221; says Kapur.

More tourists in peak season, the valley gets 6,000 visitors daily means more plastic and garbage too. Polythene bags were banned in Manali after the area was declared eco-fragile, but the government8217;s eco-tourism plan of 1993-94, for which Rs 35 lakh was sanctioned, remains to be implemented. The plan aimed at garbage control and clean, green8217; tourism. Samarji, a 65-year-old karamchari, says: 8220;Sometimes, the garbage is so full of plastic bags, the land looks like a plastic carpet.8221; Non-biodegradable matter prevents rainwater from percolating into the ground, which is partially responsible for flash floods.

In the 1995 flood, farmers became landless labourers overnight and people, livestock and trees were washed away in 72 hours. The locals, however, offer the quaintest reasons for the flood. 8220;This is ghor kalyug. Crime in society has increased and this is the devta8217;s punishment,8221; says Susheel, who runs a tea shop in Sheror village. Kullu, incidentally, is home to over 365 devtas, and colourful processions invoking deities are not unusual. To appease the deities, Kullu locals often burn trees, which increases the risk of forest fires. Yet others believe floods have become more devastating since 1947, 8220;to wash away the blood of Muslims who were killed during Partition,8221; explains Devi Singh, a wage labourer.

Though the authorities say there have been local initiatives against felling of trees and excessive grazing, which also loosens the soil, tangible changes are few and far between. And in the absence of a comprehensive flood management plan, Kullu known as the Valley of Gods might just be seized by demonic waters again.

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