With the authorities squabbling on permits and ecology, etc., the most important aspect of River Rafting in Lidder in Pahalgam - SAFETY has kind of taken a back seat. And it came out glaringly yesterday when a group of tourists could not maintain control of their raft, and while many got injured, one of the rourists actually succumbed to her injuries (see the detailed news item below).
A very expensive lesson learnt? Well, if its even a lesson learnt. Hopefully PDA/Tourism Department would streamline how they select travel agencies and more importantly their personnel. Even more important is designation of certain streches of river from Type 1 to 6 depending upon the difficulty level. Tourists can then cautiously choose where they want to raft, as well as sign on a non-liability paper (which is a norm through out the world).
This incident is a setback, but hopefully it will not reverse the trend and people will continue to enthusiastically enjoy the thrill of rafting in Pahalgam waters. And hats off to the local good samaritans who saved seven of the group in this incident.
Noteworthy is that this is the first casualty since the rafting was introduced in Lidder during the past three years.
BlogoSquare
