The river rafting belt of River Ganga in Uttarakhand near Rishikesh is a popular venue among adventure-lovers and thousands of National and International tourists visit every year. It helps a lot in generating revenue and developing state’s economy. But, use of the river for recreational purposes is impacting the river environment negatively.
An important social survey conducted recently found water pollution, loss of vegetation, cultural degradation and displacement of wildlife, resulting directly due to rafting and camping activities.
Despite there being rules and regulations to maintain the holy river and its surroundings, violation of these norms is regularly happening, due to which there is great threat to the ecology and the river environment.
Answer the following questions:
- What are the threats posed to the River Ganga due to commercial river rafting and camping?
- What values do you learn from the above passage?
- What measures will you suggest to improve this environment?