‘‘No, Sir, India needs a Zero-child Policy!’ These words belong to a young frustrated couple on a motorbike, immediately behind our car, who, like us and hundreds of other commuters (mostly tourists), waited helplessly for that choked Dalhousie road to open. They shouted these words immediately in response to ‘India needs a One-child Policy’ that I had earlier uttered in frustration after stepping out of our car, having waited for more than half an hour, at a road-bend, for the traffic to move, with our engine running.
Many commuters – on two and four wheeled vehicles – looked visibly frustrated and helpless on that afternoon of 6 July 2018. A young female cop tried her best to facilitate the movement of traffic but there was a limit to what she possibly could do! As a human, she could not widen the road or physically throw some vehicles off the road!
Being a Friday, many people from the nearby plains thronged the famous hilly resort – to escape from the humidity and heat, and to destress themselves. Registration plates of vehicles indicated motorists from as far as Jammu, Chandigarh and Delhi, as well as from Punjab and Himachal itself.
Physiologically, Kashmiris feel very uncomfortable in hot and humid environment, as it is not their natural environment. Unfortunately, since their exodus from Kashmir, in 1990, they suffer – mentally and physically – during every Indian summer; and monsoons exacerbate their sufferings. My father wanted a change and some quick relief from the hot and humid weather, so we decided to have a brief excursion at Dalhousie. Last he had visited the resort with my mother, about 12 years ago. So it was an emotional trip for him. When my mother was alive, my parents would visit Dalhousie – their favourite hilly resort (outside Kashmir) – three to four times every year.
It took us nearly 4.5 hours to travel from Jammu, a distance of about 190 km. However, after eating lunch at a restaurant at Subash Chowk, it took us nearly 1.5 hours to travel a distance of about 2 km to reach our hotel, which was located on Khajiar Road, about 500 m from Gandhi Chowk. For fear of getting caught in traffic jams, we hesitated from coming out of our hotel room the next morning. Because of that, we changed our hotel.
I visited Dalhousie after a gap of exactly 25 years, during which the resort seems to have become much denser, with many man-made structures featuring along the roads. The local roads have remained unchanged, as there is no possibility of widening them due to geographical / topographical / geological constraints. The roads have consequently become more trafficked by pedestrians and vehicles – an obvious effect of increase in the number of tourists – due to climate change (?), (unsustainable) population boom and the economic growth of the country.
From my last visit, I don’t recall having observed traffic on ‘garam sadak’ and ‘thandi sadak’. But now, these essentially pedestrian roads featured new hotel constructions and vehicular traffic!
Dalhousie (after Lord Dalhousie) has been a popular hilly resort in Himanchal Pradesh for more than a century, but how long more? Like many other popular hilly resorts, during summer holiday season, it suffers due to the invasion of humans from the nearby plains and chokes frequently. It has caught the disease of the cities – traffic jams, environmental pollution, frustration of commuters, mindless construction activity etc. The resort shows a heavy carbon footprint due to an ever-growing human activity.
Crippling traffic jams on those narrow hilly roads of Dalhousie, and similar hilly resorts, not only waste the precious human time but also damage the local environment. Dalhousie’s local climate has seemingly changed. Historically, Dalhousie would receive heavy snowfalls during winter months, in the order of four to six feet thick. Reportedly, however, last winter, it has received just two snowfalls, each only about six inches thick.
Out of my concern, I discussed the above issues with a number of locals, some veterans, and provided them with the following suggestions to help save the local environmental and the hotel industry itself:
- Introduce regulations to ban all new constructions in the area;
- During peak holiday season, carbon-emitting vehicles must not be allowed to move within a radius of about 5 km from Gandhi Chowk;
- Create a large car-parking facility at the downhill location, at least 5 km from Gandhi Chowk, where all tourist vehicles should be parked;
- Introduce battery-operated cars to transport the visitors from the carpark to their hotels; and
- Introduce cycle rickshaws as local transport, which will provide employment to numerous people and also allow pedestrians to move safely and freely.
To the extent possible, for the benefit of their health, visitors must be encouraged to walk around on foot. Ease in commuting is essential for maximising the benefits of any holiday or excursion.
What is the combined effect of population boom and the economic growth? Reduced liveability, increased mental stress and environmental degradation! What is the solution? Population and environmental control, as well as focus on making public transport more efficient and accessible, with strict control on the production, movement and ownership of private vehicles. Choked roads can be likened to choked blood vessels in a body, with potential catastrophic consequences.
Mother India, is there anyone who cares for you and is really looking after your environment and sustainability? Your population has grown four times in the past seven decades. Does anyone care?
One would only wish if Indians could think like the Chinese! If only the Indian leadership and stake holders had the foresight, vision and the strength of the Chinese leadership and, more importantly, the will to address her population and pollution issues! If only winning elections and staying in the power was not so important!’ … Bill K Koul