Kullu dogged by ecological crisis

Heavy tourist traffic and exhaust fumes are irreparably damaging the fragile ecosystem of the popular Rohtang Pass in the scenic Kullu Valley of Himachal Pradesh, says an environmental scientist.

The temperature at the 3,915-metre-high Rohtang Pass overlooking the Kullu valley has gone up by at least a degree over the past 30 years, hastening the melting of glaciers around the pass, says J C Kunihal, senior scientist at the Govind Ballabh Pant Environment Institute, Kullu.

According to Kunihal, during the peak tourist season in summer, the traffic has almost doubled at the pass in two years. In 2003, around 650 vehicles drove up to the pass. Now it's more than 1,000 vehicles, located some 55 km from Manali, to travel to the Lahaul-Spiti region.

"Clouds of dust are blown over the pass each day by the speeding vehicles that drive up and down the hairpin bends," he added.

"To maintain the beauty of the pass and the surrounding areas the traffic must be regulated. Only vehicles with Euro II emission norms must be allowed to enter this spot," Kunihal said.

"The snow is turning black with the soot, which, after melting, goes into water sources. The exhaust is so polluting that even the rocks along the roadsides leading up to the pass are turning black or dark grey."

The Beas, which originates at the edge of the pass, has swollen the most among all the major rivers of the hill state when flash floods last week wreaked havoc in the river valleys downstream, washing away roads, bridges, houses and farmland. The pass remains open for less than half the year due to heavy snowfall.

Three years ago, the Rohtang Pass was in the news when environmentalists and the apex court rapped some leading multinational companies (including Pepsi and Coke) for painting advertisements on rocks along the roads.

The court had ordered them to scrub clean the rocks damaged by chemical paints. The pass is an important spot on the itinerary of tourists visiting the picturesque Kullu Valley.