[tsk1979]

Planning to take your diesel SUV to leh this year?
Forget about it. Or take the Srinagar route.

NGT decided banning ten year old vehicles from Rohtang was not enough. They need to ban all diesel tourist vehicles from going to Rohtang Pass

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Planning to take your diesel SUV to leh this year?
Forget about it. Or take the Srinagar route.

NGT decided banning ten year old vehicles from Rohtang was not enough. They need to ban all diesel tourist vehicles from going to Rohtang Pass

Attachment 1362812

This is actually a welcome move. Leh is fast deterorating do to the heavy tourist influx there.

[rajneeesh]

NGT is going overboard. If this is not eco terrorism, I dunno what is. They should concentrate on getting some of their earlier orders (plastic bag ban in NCR and burning of leaves etc) implemented rather than issue a new diktat a day. Thousands of taxi drivers will be rendered jobless in an area where tourism is the mainstay of the local economy.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Planning to take your diesel SUV to leh this year?
Forget about it. Or take the Srinagar route.

NGT decided banning ten year old vehicles from Rohtang was not enough. They need to ban all diesel tourist vehicles from going to Rohtang Pass

Attachment 1362812

Traffic in the reverse direction, i.e. towards Manali from the Leh side, does not appear to be banned as per the order.

Incidentally, what about army vehicles? This seems to be a blanket ban, and no exemptions seem to have been given for them.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

This seems to be a blanket ban, and no exemptions seem to have been given for them.

If you read the order it says "For Tourism purpose".

I am wondering, if I go to Rohtang Pass for the purpose of measuring the weight of the stone lying next to the pass signboard, is it allowed?

That said, I expect this to be watered down. They will ban all vehicles not going to Rohtang for the purpose of crossing it. Currently this ban is there for outside state vehicles, making the ban a means to enrich the taxi union. If this ban is for vehicles going for Rohtang Pass visit only, it won't impact much.

That said, instead of such bans etc., if they can do something sensible like constructing a ropeway(which will eliminate the need for 90% of vehicles going up there), it will reduce pollution. But that requires real work. Passing judgements does not.

[SmartCat]

Honda CRV and Suzuki Grand Vitara owners will finally have an opportunity to point fingers at their friends & say "hahahaha!"

[akshay4587]

Private vehicles are exempted from this ban, as per an article, in, The Tribune today.

[GTO]

NGT can roll out all the orders it wants - who is going to listen to them? They don't appear to have any kind of implementation in place. Seems like a bunch of dudes talking to each other only .

Thanks to Naru for this post:

Originally Posted by naru

Sample some of the "bans" by NGT in just the past few weeks:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/newdel...1-1334769.aspx [on diesel vehicles]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/46840533.cms [on construction in Gurgaon & Noida]

http://post.jagran.com/ngt-extends-s...and-1428314713 [on construction in Rajaji National park]

http://www.financialexpress.com/arti...streets/59679/ [directive to AAP to clean up garbage]

http://articles.economictimes.indiat...nment-ministry [on rafting in Uttarakhand]

http://indianexpress.com/article/cit...air-pollution/ [directive on air pollution in delhi]

NGT seems to be just a publicity hungry body, going from one ban to another without any sort of mechanism to see if any of the bans are actually implemented. There has also been NGT bans on parking on roads in Delhi!

Check this status report on an earlier ban on vehicles more than 15 years old. Only a few thousand cars affected, according to Delhi govt officials. Pathetic!
http://www.hindustantimes.com/newdel...1-1334263.aspx

[sgiitk]

I will say the NGT is 'bonkers'. One of these days they may be assaulted by irate cabbies, etc.

[Renjith_Mani]

Hi all Below is the complete text of Tribune article
It does not clearly say anything on allowing private cars

Quote...............
Starting May 1, only petrol-driven vehicles will be allowed for commercial purposes in the eco-sensitive Rohtang region.
The district administration passed the directions today in compliance with the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
However, the decision has not gone down well not just with locals but also with tourists, as a majority of tourist vehicles that arrive here are run on diesel.
The move follows the orders of the NGT in November last year directing the state government to take immediate steps to ensure plying of CNG buses from Vashisht to Rohtang and vice and versa.
Kullu Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Vinay Thakur stated that in compliance with the orders of the NGT only petrol-run vehicles would be allowed for commercial purposes in the Rohtang region from May 1.
The ADM said diesel-operated tourist and commercial vehicles would not be allowed beyond the Bhang barrier. He added that the Army vehicles, HRTC buses, private vehicles and vehicles of Lahaul residents had been exempted from the order.
The state government has already held a meeting with a high-level team from the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) and representatives from major automobile companies for starting CNG buses in the state, especially in connection with setting up of a CNG station at Manali, so that environment-friendly buses could be plied to Rohtang Pass.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had also expressed reservations on the practicability of the NGT order and indicated that a review petition would be filed before the NGT.
................... Unquote

Courtesy Tribune web page

[alpha1]

What is the issue with diesel vehicles? Why are petrol still allowed?

Originally Posted by GTO

NGT can roll out all the orders it wants - who is going to listen to them? They don't appear to have any kind of implementation in place. Seems like a bunch of dudes talking to each other only .

Thanks to Naru for this post:

NGT reminds me of the Gheun Tak gag that used to come on Channel V in the 90s.
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=128899015792

###

On a side note, isn't it supposed to be QUORUM instead of CORAM?

[luvtandon]

Originally Posted by Renjith_Mani

Hi all Below is the complete text of Tribune article
It is does not clearly say anything on allowing private cars

Quote...............
The ADM said diesel-operated tourist and commercial vehicles would not be allowed beyond the Bhang barrier. He added that the Army vehicles, HRTC buses, private vehicles and vehicles of Lahaul residents had been exempted from the order.
................... Unquote

Courtesy Tribune web page

As highlighted above, the article itself states that Army vehicles, HRTC buses, private vehicles and vehicles of Lahaul residents had been exempted.

Rest all apart shouldn't the NGT be asked that are Diesel Vehicles the only source of pollution in the area and what alternate is it going to provide the poor cabbies whom this order is going to render jobless.

[kaushik_s]

Instead of refuting the order instantly, can we have some data and then decide?
1. How many diesel taxis (for tourism purpose) are there in Kulu-Manali? How many are petrol ?
2. How many of them plies to Rohtang pass daily? On an average, the daily numbers would be helpful.
3. What is the number of Trucks/Military vehicles/private vehicles for the similar number of days?

If no. 2 has much more number than no.3 then probably NGT/State Govt. is right in banning the diesel vehicles. If not then it's just a knee-jerk attempt to correct something which is surely going wrong. Yes, something needs to be done to save the fragile environment but half measure are not going to work. Probably the Rohtang Tunnel will solve the problem to a big extent.

And let's not be childish about whether Diesel pollutes more than petrol, it does.

[tsk1979]

Rohtang problem is simple to solve. No jams. No pollution.
Why are there jams?
Because people go there, park anywhere, and play in snow.

Solution.
20,000 fine for wrong parking.

The problem will go away, and no union will have any leg to stand on.

[breezydrive]

Don't worry, after about 3 years, the tunnel should become operational. It goes beyond Sissu. Currently, 50% excavation done; No need to go to Rohtang, if bound for Leh!