KV Network

Halting rafting ops, a welcome step

Halting rafting ops, a welcome step
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The government finally woke up to the deaths that occurred due to adventure sport rafting in the famed tourist spot Pahalgam during the past two weeks. Three people died in two separate incidents when the boats carrying the rafters capsized.
The decision to suspend rafting across Kashmir means that all rafting related activities at all tourist destinations particularly at Pahalgam and Sonamarg shall remain suspended till a proper mechanism / technical guidance is put in place at all such locations.
The government order followed after reports that the tragic deaths of a woman participant and an employee of tourism department in the Pahalgam rafting incident this week could have been avoided had in-charge officials not permitted joy rides to their kin after closing time of the adventure activity.
Though risks are inherent in any adventure sport and rafting too falling in the category, but the causalities can be minimized by hiring well-trained professional guides by commercial rafters and putting in place the entire backup including disaster management and life saving facilities.
Besides, the people associated with rafting need to be highly professional in approach and the free joy rides and other laxities that come inherent to non-professional attitude should not be tolerated by the higher ups.
The tragedy that occurred this week could have been avoided, but due to non-professional attitude two people lost their life. The day’s event at the rafting sites close by 3pm. The mishap occurred around 4:15 pm when all the rescue teams, SDRF, police, sports council team, and commercial rafters had called it a day.
Thus when the tragedy stuck, no one was there to help in the rescue operations. Secondly, the rescue teams need to be highly trained professionals who know their job as what matters is the approach the rescuers adopt while taking on the might of the nature.
Primarily, at Pahalgam and Sonamarg, the rescue teams are ill trained and lack all the skills that are otherwise required to save lives in case of any eventuality. The SDRF teams deputed at both the places have no formal training and the deputed personnel at both the places are nearing retirement who are not interested in taking any risks owing to their lack of stamina and vigor.
Similarly, the lack of life saving facilities too plays its part. At both the rafting sites, Sonamarg and Pahalgam there is no life saving support available and the officials of tourism department are to be blamed for that directly.
Even a criminal negligence case should be registered against the then Director Tourism who approved the sport without even bothering to take precautions to ensure least causalities in case there is an eventuality of any sorts.
A former Director and then Secretary tourism who out of his sheer arrogance and highhandedness has been a brain child behind approving adventure sports like rafting at Pahalgam and Sonamarg needs to be booked immediately for all these mishaps and subsequent deaths.
Reports have suggested that the official approved these sports without caring for human lives as he wanted to impress his political bosses and seek favours from them for promoting tourism in Kashmir.


KV Network

Kashmir Vision cover all daily updates for the newspaper

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