Himachal Pradesh: Complete restriction on water sports, camping near river banks in Mandi

Mandi: The tourism department and administration of Mandi district on Tuesday issued guidelines to completely restrict all water sports activities and shut down all camping sites near river banks, informed officials.

The administration cited safety as the primary reason behind the move.
"Due to the rainy season, the tourism department has issued guidelines stating that all the camping sites and water sports activities in the vicinity of the banks of the rivers in the district will be completely restricted till the season's end," said Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Mandi, Ashwani Kumar.

The officials have also been directed to take note of the guidelines and action will be taken against the violators.
"Further, all the related instructions have been issued to the Police, and Forest Department. Action under the purview of the law will be taken against those who will flout the rules," he added.

The district administration also appealed to the people not to go to the restricted areas like rivers, drains, ravines, landslide-prone areas, etc. during the rainy season.

Earlier, several people were feared to be washed away in flash floods caused by a cloud burst that wreaked havoc at Choj nullah in Parvati Valley of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district. The incident caused considerable damage to the properties and also destroyed the only bridge that leads to the village.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur reviewed the administration's preparedness to tackle various emergency situations arising out of heavy rain in the state with the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of all the districts through video conferencing from Shimla.

The Chief Minister directed the officers to make foolproof arrangements for managing disasters that are arising due to heavy rains. He said that an adequate number of people and machinery should be deployed in natural calamities-prone areas. (ANI)