The Hindu : National : Tourists throng water bodies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 07, 2006

National

National

Tourists throng water bodies

Staff Correspondent

Rishikesh, springs around Dehra Dun sees heavy rush

DEHRA DUN: All roads these days seem to be leading to the ghats of the Ganga in Rishikesh or the innumerable canals and springs around Dehra Dun as locals and tourists prefer to spend the hot days in or near the cool waters.

A vast number of small restaurants and vendors selling eatables are doing brisk business as most people prefer to buy things locally rather than bring in food and soft drinks from the city. Local children are also earning their bit selling fresh wild fruits from the nearby areas. And all this is leaving the ghats and canal sides dirty as the merrymakers simply throw away the polythene packets and empty soft drink cans. The problem could be sorted out by providing dustbins along the water bodies but the authorities seem to be in no mood to provide civic amenities at these places, complained young Ramaswamy and his wife Kodai from Salem who are camping at Rishikesh before proceeding to Badrinath and Kedarnath. Guchupani is famous for its caves and cool waters, Lachiwala has a cool canal in the forests where one can swim and play, and Sahasradhara is the legendary spa known for its curative sulphur springs. Unfortunately a number of canals in the Doon region which till a few years ago served as favourite haunts for locals have been covered with cement in the name of widening of roads.

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