Known for its hot springs, Kheerganga is located in Parvati valley

CHANDIGARH : Cafés and camping businesses have started vacating Kullu’s popular camping destination Kheerganga , according to an official of the Himachal Pradesh forest department. The eateries started packing up from May 25, after a two-month deadline set by the Himachal Pradesh high court came to an end.

Parvati divisional forest officer (DFOs) Hiralal Rana told The Times of India on Saturday that cafés and restaurants had been asked to leave because the high-altitude meadow fell in forest land and no commercial activity was allowed in such places.

Kheerganga, which is known for its hot springs, is located on the top of the picturesque Parvati valley in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. Of late, nearly 50 cafés had mushroomed illegally at Kheerganga and had been causing immense damage to the ecologically-sensitive environs of the trekking destination, said the official.

Tourists will still be allowed to visit and camp at Kheerganga, after they take a permit from the forest department, Rana added. “There is one rider, though: they will have to collect all the trash they take with them,” he said.

The order to remove commercial establishments in Kheergana is expected to come as a setback for tourism in Kullu district. In July 2015, the National Green Tribunal had imposed a blanket ban on commercial activities at Rohtang, Solang and Marhi — three tourist destinations located near Manali and which were popular for adventure activities like paragliding and skiing.

The DFO said eatery owners were given enough time to leave the meadow. “We have not imposed a ban on anything. These activities were already not allowed there,” the DFO added. “The owners understand the complications. In fact, before they started leaving, we organised a meeting at Barshani , a village near Manikaran from where most people trek to Kheerganga. We, in fact, extended the deadline from April 25 to May 25, so that people could recover the amount they had invested in camps.”

Pradeep Sangwan, the founder of Healing Himalayas, an NGO which has been organizing treks for cleaning up trails, said such had been the extent of commercialization in Kheerganga that permanent, brick-and-mortar structures had come up there even though there was no road access. “It had turned into a hotspot for parties. A lot of trash was being produced here,” he said. “Its face had changed in the past 10 years. This move will help Kheerganga return to its original self.”

