BENGALURU: All trekkers, guides and forest staffers on ground should strictly follow trekking rules. The guides have been assigned the task to note details of trekkers and report those violating norms. They will be blacklisted from the very next trip, said forest, environment and ecology department minister Eshwar B Khandre on Friday.
The guides taking trekkers will be given walkie-talkies which are Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled. They will note the details of trekkers and report of any violations to the base camp and the head office immediately. To ensure there are no untoward incidents, no treks beyond 19Kms, in total trip length, will be permitted henceforth, he said.
He was speaking to the media at the sidelines of the release of the Standard Operating Procedures for Trekking in Forests of Karantaka. This is the first nine-page detailed guide for Indian forests. Khandre said, the SOPs will have to be followed by all trekkers and government departments including Jungle Lodges and Resorts, Eco-Tourism Development Board, Tourism Department, Revenue department, private organisations and all other agencies offering trekking.
The miinister admitted, "The rules spelt out in the SOPs were earlier announced, but were not being strictly implemented. There were laxities. Now things are being set right. Failure of rules will ensure stern action."
He added, no treks without guides will be permitted and action will be taken against the local staffers and head of the department, if guides are not present. For ten trekkers, there will have to be one guide. Locals are being given guides training to increase employment. Carrying capacity study of the trek routes has been undertaken and a maximum of 450 trekkers will be permitted in a day. All trails will be tracked continuously. The Youth Services and Sports Department and GETHNA have also been roped in for assisting forest department. There are 44 identified, permitted trek routes in Karnataka and no others are permitted. Trekkers must register through Aranya Vihaara port for undertaking trekking in Karnataka, Khandre said.
The department released the SOPs after two consecutive untoward incidents. In the first, 36-year-old GS Sharanya, native of Nadapuram, Kozhikode, had gone missing for four-days in Tadiandamol, Kodagu on April 2. The second, being the death of 15-year-old Sreenanda near Manikyadhara Falls in Chikkamagaluru.
Khandre added that in wake of the safety of trekkers, it has been decided that no treks beyond 19Km will operate. The famous 21Km Kumara Parvatha trek route has been stopped. He added, the implementation will be reviewed every six weeks and next year the SOPs will be revised for further improvement.
He added that for the safety of trekkers, guides will carry first aid kits and will wear high visibility life jackets/vests. Treks have been divided into three categories- easy, moderate and strenuous (nature walk, moderate and advanced trek). Resting points have been created on each trek routes. "While it is guides and departments' responsibility; trekkers should also be responsible and not lead into adventurous activities," Khandre said.
Adding to this, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, wildlife, Kuamr Pushkar said, homestays, hotels and other such places will have to register their guests for trekking using the trekkers details only through the department portal. No bulk or spot bookings will be permitted. Trekking registrations will close 48hours before the day of the trek and trekkers will have to submit valid government IDs that were used while making bookings on the portal. Places where wildlife, particularly carnivores, sloth bear and elephants are found by staffers will not be allowed for trekking, he added.
