The recent winter games at Auli in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district have once again opened the debate on developing the Khaliya Top in Munsyari, around 350 kilometres from Auli, as a better skiing destination owing to the region’s geographical advantages.

Auli at present is dubbed as the best slope in the state for holding winter games.  A three- day  National Nordic and Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding competition concluded at Auli on February 28.

Though skiing enthusiasts are unanimous about the potential of Khaliya Top as a better alternative for the sport and hence the need to develop it, tourism authorities cite issues relating to forestland which hinder development plans.

Most of the Khaliya Top is reserve forestland and as such the forest department does not permit camping and other activities there. The land has first to be transferred from the forest department to the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board.

According to Vikas Kirola, who has toured the Munsyari area, Khaliya Top has the perfect incline for skiing. “Agencies, such as Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam and Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB), must make sincere efforts to develope it into a ski slope,” said Kirola.

Puran Pandey, a resident of Munsyari, cited how a recent ski training camp organised in the region evoked good response and blamed a lack of will on the part of the government.The Pandit Nain Singh Surveyor Mountaineering Training Institute and the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) have held ski training camps at Bethulidhar near Munsyari. “The camps evoked good response. It’s time, Khaliya Top too is developed into a skiing destination like Auli,” Pandey said.

NS Qiriyal, joint director, UTDB, said plans to turn Khaliya Top into a ski slope had been held up due to forest- related issues. “We can proceed only if the government solves the issue of reserve forestland or finds a way out,” he said.

VK Bhargava, divisional forest officer, Pithoragarh, said the department is open to talks to find a way out in developing Khaliya Top as a skiing destination. “It’s an issue that can be resolved through concrete plan and deliberation with various departments,” he said. A survey was conducted by the state government five years ago and but made little progress after that.

First Published: Mar 12, 2019 17:44 IST