Among the two or three hill stations in north India which have not been totally degraded is Dalhousie, at the extreme west of Himachal Pradesh. Its ability to remain green is only partly due to the presence of the cantonment which has acted as a break on unplanned expansion and devastation also at resorts like Ranikhet and Kasauli.
The people of the town have played their part too. They have realised that the trees and greenery are their greatest asset, says the proprietor of the 90-year-old provision store D C Khanna & Co, which has remained with the family all along. Some unplanned construction has taken place, impeding the view along hillside roads but this is not continuing. The slopes right up to the town and going onto its upper reaches are well covered with tall Deodar, the gnarled and knotty Oak and the occasional Spruce. In fact, one of the walks down a lesser road that ends in a private `palace' and so does not get any through traffic is among the nicest that one can find in any hill station anywhere in the world. Not only are the trees proud and tall, the undergowth has not been subject to the scythe of the grasscutter and the view down steep glades and opening out into valleys is breathtaking.
Even the authorities seem aware of the need to preserve the treasure that is Dalhousie. A plaque marking the launch of the Eco Tourism Development Project by the then chief minister Veerbhadra Singh adorns a corner of the intersections of the Mall and the Court Road. Unfortunately, the project has only a couple of roadside dustbins and unused public toilets to show for itself. Says Mr Khanna of the provision store, the way to promote such tourism is to let people see the lovely Deodar and Pine forests that the area abounds in, without damaging them of course. But who has time for such tourism. People go to the hills for the weekend these days and want to `do' the entire Himachal in two weeks. On the other hand, in the old days people came to stay in the hills for months to improve their health, which is how stores like his family's came up.
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As happy as Dalhousie makes you feel, a visit to neighbouring Khajjiar, is equally saddening. The unique meadow rung by tier upon tier of the tallest Deodars has won an acknowledgement from the Swiss mission in India that it is as near to Switzerland as you can get in Himachal. My family and I fell in love with it when we visited it first four years ago. This time we found it rung by broken bottles, plastic waste and loads of horseshit delivered by the poor ponies who have to bear the burden of those who think a hill holiday is not complete without a pony ride. Khajjiar is going to seed but who cares, laments Mr Khanna _ every vote counts; who can throw out the ugly eating shops and the poor ponies.
If Khajjiar is depressing, the mood inevitably lifts as the road goes up the rise that takes you in and out of the Khajjiar-Kalatop reserve forest. Again, it is one of the finest mountain forests that north India can boast of, leaving Binsar in the Kumaon hills, whose glory has been much diminished by forest fires, far behind. That indeed is the story of the journey to the hills in India today. The mood lifts and falls but with time it remains down more and more.