The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Rafting on the Kali stopped

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 15, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Rafting on the Kali stopped

Sharath S. Srivatsa

Fun sport: A file picture of participants in white water rafting on the River Kali in Uttar Kannada district.

BANGALORE: For years, white water rafting on the fast-flowing Kali brought a rush of adrenalin to the adventurer. The State Forest Department has now thrown cold water on the sport, triggered by an agitation spearheaded by the local people. It has caused one of the best rafting routes of south India to suddenly become “out of bounds” for rafters. Rafting in the area has been stopped from September 10, by an order of the Huliyal Divisional Forest Officer, after local people hurled allegations against the Southern River Adventures, who operates rafting on the river on behalf of Jungle Lodges and Resorts.

Showcased by the Tourism Department as a premier adventure destination, the 14-km stretch on the Kali, between Ganeshgudi and Moulangi, near Dandeli in Uttar Kannada district, had emerged as a popular adventure tourism destination, after the route was thrown open in 1999. Incidentally, Mr. John Pollard, a British national heading operations of SRA, opened the rafting route on Kali. The SRA’s contract with JLR for rafting activities in River Kali runs till 2010. “Just as the rafting season was commencing, the department’s order has brought the activities to a standstill,” said Mr. Pollard, who holds a rafting licence issued in Austria. However, according to a senior Forest Department official, the rafting has been stopped temporarily after local people hurled allegations against Mr. Pollard. They said there was loss to the State exchequer by a foreign national.

Local officials have sent a report to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) for a decision, the official said.

Mr. Pollard said that the allegations were not true, as he had entered into a contract for sharing revenues with the JLR. The JLR would get 40.5 per cent of the profits. “JLR has similar agreements with other operators on River Cauvery in Kodagu and Bheemeshwari, and River Sita in Udupi,” he added.

Charge refuted

While the Forest Department said the decision to stop rafting had been taken following a complaint by the Dandeli Bachao Andolan Samithi, its working President Ajith M. Naik told The Hindu that they had not complained against SRA.

In a letter to the department, the samithi said that rafting on the Kali should not be stopped as it would affect the tourism industry, he added.

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