Uttarakhand High Court bans night stay in high meadows

The Uttarakhand High Court recently put a ban on night stay in high meadows in the state. It also passed a mandate limiting the number of tourists visiting there. With this move, adventure tourism in this region is likely to witness a major blow, eventually leading to lakhs of people, who were engaged in mountaineering expeditions and treks to lose jobs.
On August 21, the Uttarakhand High Court ordered the state government to remove all permanent arrangements from the alpine and sub-alpine grasslands and meadows within three months, including Aali-Bedini-Bagzi Bugyals (grasslands) in the state.

A bench of justice, comprising Rajiv Sharma and Lokpal Singh, also put a limit on the number of visitors visiting the high meadows. As per the latest news reports, the number agreed upon on the number of tourists to be allowed as of now is 200. Also, the order banned commercial grazing of cattle on all types of alpine meadows. However, only local shepherds will be allowed to graze their cattle, but in a reasonable number.
Jayendra Singh Rana, president of Garhwal Himalayan Trekking and Mountaineering Association, expressed concern regarding this move. He said that there are trekking destinations in the region that cannot be reached without staying en route. He also expressed concern as to what will happen to cooks, mule operators, helpers, porters, who used to accompany the trekkers in their expedition to the high meadows and grasslands.
He further said that this action will impact the livelihood of village people, who were involved in such expeditions in one way or the other.