MANALI: The panchayats of Banjar, especially Tirthan valley, which are adjacent to Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), are demanding to restrict the number of rooms in local hotels to 10 and make the whole area a “special ecotourism zone”.
The residents say they won’t allow large hotels, which will put extra burden on resources and harm the ecology. So, they are of the view that panchayats will give NOC only to those hotels which will have 10 or fewer rooms and a maximum of three-and-half storey structure. Tirthan, Jibhi and other areas of Banjar have become extremely popular among tourists.
Given the high demand for hotels and intervention by non-local wealthy residents from other states, the local residents say it’s high time to stop mushrooming of concrete structures, complete commercialisation of tourism and exploitation of the environment.
The 11 panchayats favouring making the region a special eco-zone are: Shilhi, Tung, Mashiyar, Sharchi, Kandidhar, Nohanda, Pekhadi Shrikot, Kalwari, Khadagad, Tandi and Palahach.
A special meeting with the presidents and vice-presidents of all these panchayats, along with stakeholders, was held by Kullu administration to decide further course of action.
While Kullu deputy commissioner Ashutosh Garg chaired the meeting, officials from many other departments, including town and country planning (TCP) and planning office were also present.
Shilhi panchayat president Mohar Singh said a detailed discussion on vision document for sustainable tourism development in the valley was held at Shai Ropa on Friday.
“We gave suggestions for responsible and long-term tourism and had a discussion on vision document. Everybody objected to construction of huge buildings. The panchayats have already expressed objection on building big hotels,” he said.
As some areas are already in eco and buffer zones of Great Himalayan National Park, the panchayats are seeking special ecotourism zone status.
