Sorry, I have not been able to post any reply in Rajeshji's thread on this subject. Excuse me for starting a new topic. I feel that the ropeway will be a blessing in many ways and a disadvatage in some ways. 1. I have travelled in a similar ropeway at Auli and at many places outside India. They take you over canopies of forests which otherwise are never accessible. Some places even have canopy walkways to look at trees and birds. Rich forest at Genting Highland in Thailand beautufully stands in glory below the ropes. No doubt eating shacks and mule owners may lose their earning but anyway they mostly come up from plains. They will find an alternative soon. 2. Area surrounding walkway is more than filthy. All blame goes to people and eating shacks. This will improve to the benefit of plant explorers. A garbage dump from top in a valley will soon compete with surrounding mountains. Ropeway can prevent entry of non degradable waste. 3. The pylons for ropeway need very little space and this will in no way harm the flora. 4. Entrance to ropeway can stipulate strict action for plucking. In fact there can be better control on Brahmakamal with the ropeway. As such we must decry the aura around Brahmakamal. It is no way connected with celebrated Kamal, only the outer bracts have a resemblance and the dull inner flowers are toxic to inhale and can even cause fainting at that altitude. These plants are surviving inspite of a local ritual when thousands of inflorescences are plucked and worn as a crown in a festival. Plucking a flower (surely not justified) does not destroy the plant. 5. The mules graze on invasive plants such as polygonum and impatiens and several others. This keeps invasive plants under control. Their dung flows down with frequent rain and thus the walkway remains clean. The plants get the nutrients from the mule-dung. If due to ropeway the mules are totally stopped Hemkund flora will surely suffer due to proliferation of invasive plants. VOF has a ban on grazing. Since my first visit to VOF in 1997 the invasive plants have spread by 2 kms into the valley beyond the entrance footbridge. 6. Due to suuden gain of altitude of 5000 feet from G. dham the altitude sickness at 14200 ft can become more hazardous. Pls permit me to post an ugly picture of Kas with flowers prisoned behind a fence. The debacle of 2012 season is only due to enormous hue and cry created by environmentalists and botanists (exagerated news) on how Kas flora suffered due to tourism. Here the medicine has proved to fatal than the decease itself. Now no one is allowed to go near flowers for preventing plucking or trampling. Recently it was announced that except researchers no one should visit Kas which I find absurd. My comments might bring in wrath of some members but this is my opinion after a long careful study. I hope we evaluate this subject more carefully. With regards,
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