By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 15 Dec: A book, titled ‘Uttarakhand Tourism – The Kaizen Way to Sustainability and Progress’, written by Brig (Dr) BPS Khati, (Retd), was released by Satish Sharma, Editor, Garhwal Post, in the presence of many local dignitaries and book lovers.
Sharma congratulated Brig Khati for his wonderful book and wished that it reaches the policymakers of Uttarakhand.
In his book, Brig Khati has made an attempt to provide some answers to the social, cultural and economic impact upon the tourism industry.
He explained how Kaizen, a Japanese word, meaning gradual and continuous improvement and development, can be incorporated in the tourism industry. A hard-hitting short film on climate change was also shown which explained what effects the increase in temperature is having on nature worldwide.
The book launch was followed by a panel discussion led by Ratna Manucha along with Brig VPPS Gusain, (Retd).
Among the many topics that were discussed, some important ones were how Kaizen can be incorporated into the tourism industry. Sustainable practices have become the buzzword around all industries and humanity’s inherent nature towards self[1]destruction is leaving its imprint around the globe. Brig Khati’s forceful advocacy to proceed as per the Kaizen management principles is apt for the state of Uttarakhand, where 70% of the landmass is forests and mountains.
Ratna Manucha handled the discussion deftly and brought out the difference between the tourist and a traveler or a hiker. A tourist is a lazy and passive entity, as opposed to the traveler, who is a seeker. And herein lies our fault. We are busy creating tourists who are constantly expecting exciting things to happen to them, with scant concern for the environment.
Winter tourism in the Char Dham, degradation of rivers and tunnel parking, and the hotel lobbies were some of the topics discussed by the panel. Brig Gusain steered the conversation towards the increasing pollution levels of the two main rivers of Doon, the Rispana and Bindal, and how Kaizen could be applied for cleansing them from their source to avoid further environmental degradation.
Later, the floor was opened to the audience and there was animated discussion on what one could do to improve the system.
Lt Gen AK Singh (Retd) summed up the discussion by saying, “Rather than pointing fingers at others, we need to look within ourselves and be the changemakers.”
As Gandhiji said, “Be the change you want to see.”
Lt Gen PC Bhardwaj, Maj General SK Shivrain, Maj Gen SS Negi, Col Lokesh Bisht, Col C Woodward and his wife Christine, Col GS Bisht, Anoop Nautiyal, Digvijay Singh Khati, AK Srivastava, Sudhir Arora, Nitin Gairola and C Hanvey were among the guests present.
