By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Rishikesh, 25 Sep: Official sources have indicated that river rafting in the Ganga under the Kaudiyala-Munikireti Eco Tourism Zone will resume from 27 September. The technical team of the Tourism Department along with trained guides carried out a recce run in the river and submitted a report to the administration certifying rafting to be safe. With the date finalised, rafting lovers can hope for a great time ahead in the season.
Secretary of the Ganga Rafting Management Committee, Jaspal Chauhan has also confirmed that rafting will soon resume. He reminded that rafting had remained suspended for the past two and a half months owing to heavy rainfall, which had caused the river level to rise. He stated that as the rains have now subsided in the hills, the Ganga’s water level has returned to near normal. The technical team and trained guides conducted a recce run from the Marine Drive to Munikireti, focusing on all safety measures, after which the team submitted a favourable report for rafting to resume.
At present, the water level of the Ganga is stable at 338 metres. Chauhan said that tourists arriving from other parts of the country would no longer be disappointed and would once again get the opportunity to experience the thrill of riding the waves of the Ganga.
Every season, lakhs of tourists visit Rishikesh for rafting, generating crores of rupees in revenue for the government. Rafting is a primary source of income for the region around Rishikesh, with several families depending entirely on this activity for their livelihood.
In Rishikesh, rafting on the Ganga is conducted mainly from four points, Kaudiyala, Marine Drive, Shivpuri and Brahmpuri. The longest stretch is from Kaudiyala, covering about 36 kilometres, for which the charge is around Rs 2,000 per person. From Marine Drive, rafting covers 22 kilometres at Rs 1,500 per person. From Shivpuri, an 18-kilometre stretch costs between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000, while from Brahmpuri, the 9-kilometre stretch costs between Rs 600 and Rs 750 per person. Rafting in the Ganga is organised from 1 September to 30 June each year, while it remains closed during the monsoon season due to the rise in level of water because of heavy rains during this period.
