[piiyush21]

Being from Himachal Pradesh myself and presently living in Delhi, even I can vouch that India is suffering from over-tourism. The thing that irks me the most is that tourists these days have no respect for the locals or the flora and fauna and visit the places like they own it.
In the name of finding peace and tranquillity and ofcourse boozing, tourists venture into sacred and off kept spaces, often causing issues in the day-to-day life of the local people.
Most of the times I tell my friends, co-workers etc. not to venture into abandoned streams and definitely not to take their vehicles there in case it is somewhat motorable because you never know when the water levels will rise and it might cause a problem to you.

Another thing that is worthy of consideration is the behaviour of tourists with the local people. We might be simplistic and not possess many material possessions but you need to learn to be polite and respectful towards us. We have regard our hills and fields as sacred and expect you to do the same.

Worst is that Himachal is being associated with alcohol and drugs which it never represented. Himachal has always been called DEVBHOOMI and the land of MARTYRS. We boast of soldiers like Capt. Vikram Batra, Capt. Amol Kalia and Capt. Saurabh Kalia whose tales we grew up hearing from our family.

[theabstractmind]

I was not so popular when I made a similar comment previously. But now it looks like there are movements in that direction.

I am a fan of regulated tourism. Unregulated tourism has caused enough havoc in various places. Loss of culture, increased inflation, ecological damage, among others. Enough lives have been lost. Time to wake up for all - else we will be left with nothing to look out for.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by piiyush21

Being from Himachal Pradesh myself and presently living in Delhi, even I can vouch that India is suffering from over-tourism. The thing that irks me the most is that tourists these days have no respect for the locals or the flora and fauna and visit the places like they own it.
In the name of finding peace and tranquillity and ofcourse boozing, tourists venture into sacred and off kept spaces, often causing issues in the day-to-day life of the local people.

Another thing that is worthy of consideration is the behaviour of tourists with the local people. We might be simplistic and not possess many material possessions but you need to learn to be polite and respectful towards us. We have regard our hills and fields as sacred and expect you to do the same.

Worst is that Himachal is being associated with alcohol and drugs which it never represented. Himachal has always been called DEVBHOOMI and the land of MARTYRS. We boast of soldiers like Capt. Vikram Batra, Capt. Amol Kalia and Capt. Saurabh Kalia whose tales we grew up hearing from our family.

That is because in areas which were hitherto OFF limits, the sanctity of the place was retained as there was a spiritual process involved in traversing a rough terrain and reaching the destination-the journey being more important than anything else. That has been fully destroyed by 4 lane all weather highways in the name of development . I will not be surprised if they open a McDonalds in Kedarnath or a JW Marriott in Badrinath. Same goes for Atal tunnel leading to Lahaul-Spiti.

[indie_honda]

We have been seeing similar things around Monsoon in Sahyadri Hills, Maharashtra including forts. One of the major issues is the people seem more interested in capturing the perfect photo or video than respecting the natural beauty of the area. These people often risk their lives by standing on cliff edges or going into dangerous terrains all in the name of gathering social media fame. Not sure if you read recent news about an Instagrammer falling off a cliff or a national player drowning but that's just a few examples that made news, every now and then I keep hearing news(being a part of whatsapp rescue group). The desire for "likes" and broadcasting so called "hidden gems" to the world has unfortunately overshadowed basic safety and respect for nature. Despite efforts by local authorities and environmental groups to educate and enforce regulations the huge number of visitors makes it difficult to manage these issues effectively. Hope there's strict governance and even stricter rules which would help improvise this situation.