[hellmet]

I'd take my cycle. I don't think they'd care about me on my cycle.

[mi2n]

Well for those of us who are still keen to take our own vehicle to Ladakh, this might be our only option :

http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/indi...akh-42797.html

[NowNew7]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

So please exercise caution before deciding to visit Ladakh

We were 4 weeks away from a planned self drive (personal vehicles not rentals) to Ladakh. I think this is the last nail in the coffin, both from a practical as well as moral/ethical perspective.

Caution being exercised: It's bye bye Ladakh till things change

Just to play devil's advocate, apart from the greed could this have roots in a conspiracy by one of our unfriendly neighbours who may be feeling threatened by the increasing popularity and therefore the connection of this vulnerable location to the rest of the country? Just saying...

[nanduchitnis]

So owner driven vehicles will not be permitted by Taxi Mafia. That means this season 50% tourist down.

Besides the Taxi trade, Hotels, shops and many others will be severely impacted.

So many vehicles have already been damaged by taxi mafias.

Hard luck to Ladakh Tourism.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by NowNew7

Just to play devil's advocate, apart from the greed could this have roots in a conspiracy by one of our unfriendly neighbours who may be feeling threatened by the increasing popularity and therefore the connection of this vulnerable location to the rest of the country? Just saying...

Our unfriendly neighbour tends to get a lot of well deserved blame but in this case it looks like purely local greed.

The original "petition to ban self drive cars" was signed by a variety of local "associations" and local politicians.

Now whether or not the administration bans such vehicles the local cabbies are threatening to smash them up and abuse / commit violence on the drivers.

[Aceman82]

Originally Posted by nanduchitnis

So owner driven vehicles will not be permitted by Taxi Mafia. That means this season 50% tourist down.

Besides the Taxi trade, Hotels, shops and many others will be severely impacted.

So many vehicles have already been damaged by taxi mafias.

Hard luck to Ladakh Tourism.

I doubt the figure of 50% self drive private vehicles. I guess the actual figure would be around 20% based on crude estimate which we saw when we took a cab to Leh from Srinagar and hired a Pulsar for local travelling/sight seeing two years ago.

Still any loss would make an sizable impact on the economy and cascade effect would make travelers who come by flight or in cabs from Srinagar think twice before coming to Leh since not many might differentiate the actual issue.

[nanduchitnis]

Originally Posted by hserus

Our unfriendly neighbour tends to get a lot of well deserved blame but in this case it looks like purely local greed.

Now whether or not the administration bans such vehicles the local cabbies are threatening to smash them up and abuse / commit violence on the drivers.

Wonder how local cabbies will benefit by banning ALL private cars. That takes out 50 % of tourists.

People drive to Ladakh in their own cars for ADVENTURE.

If that is denied, Ladakh Tourism will COLLAPSE.

Originally Posted by Aceman82

I doubt the figure of 50% self drive private vehicles.

Still any loss would make an sizable impact on the economy and cascade effect would make travelers who come by flight or in cabs from Srinagar think twice before coming to Leh since not many might differentiate the actual issue.

Even 20 % is big. Local Taxi costs are also exorbitant.

Few years down the line the only tourists in Ladakh will be the Indian Army.

Just saying.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by nanduchitnis

People drive to Ladakh in their own cars for ADVENTURE.

If I understand the original snapshot correctly, the demand means that you can still drive TO Ladakh in your private vehicle but then you leave it at your hotel and use the local taxi for sightseeing. Am I right?

[sdp1975]

The other POV :

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheH...3471390450775/

Doesn't sound convincing on the facts of the attack.

[nanduchitnis]

Originally Posted by amitoj

If I understand the original snapshot correctly, the demand means that you can still drive TO Ladakh in your private vehicle but then you leave it at your hotel and use the local taxi for sightseeing. Am I right?

Maybe. Maybe NOT. Better leave your car at Manali /Srinagar and then hire JK
Regn Taxi. Enroute also there are taxi union mafia.

Seriously give Ladakh a pass this year.

Lets us see how this pans out.

[anandkv88]

Tourism at its peril- the clear example of this is what the Ladakh signifies.
Yes, they want to earn a livelihood. They do overcharge the unwary travelers. But are they allowed to interfere in the decisions made by a person on how he/she should travel, that too on a vacation that is supposed to be a stress reliever?

I believe that all the pre booked tours would be stressed tours for those who plan on driving down to this place.

And the audacity of the union to pass an agreement that no self driven vehicle will be allowed into this place is surely something to be frowned upon. If you are driving, you can stop for tea/pee/smoke/photo shoot breaks at your free will.

Squeeze the one who choose the cabs, but why smash the self driver vacationers?

[anilp]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

The other POV :

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheH...3471390450775/.

It's not possible to read the post without joining that group. Could you post the text if possible, please? Thanks.

[NowNew7]

Originally Posted by anilp

It's not possible to read the post without joining that group. Could you post the text if possible, please? Thanks.

It is possible to read if you are logged in to Facebook. Need to join only if you want to comment.

Originally Posted by amitoj

If I understand the original snapshot correctly, the demand means that you can still drive TO Ladakh in your private vehicle but then you leave it at your hotel and use the local taxi for sightseeing. Am I right?

IMHO it is not worth the risk to take the private vehicle as you cannot be sure where you may get stuck.

Originally Posted by sdp1975

The other POV :

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheH...3471390450775/

Doesn't sound convincing on the facts of the attack.

Thanks for sharing. The reason it doesn't sound convincing is that it is is pretty thin. Let me elaborate a bit.

The way I read it, the interest here is to discourage the local adventurers and make it possible to fleece the international travellers who wouldn't know better. Pretty apparent from the way the post is addressed to "Dear Domestic (Indian) Tourist,"

The lady writes "All the vehicles was standing peacefully in queue on the road before a check post.(sic)" Would that be the illegal check post run by the union to stop the non-union vehicles?

The reason for the clash is "one local driver got hit and sustained fracture to his right leg." And not a single photo or mention of who this poor un-named victim is? The taxi drivers used mobile and internet to good effect to identify and target the convoy, but couldn't share just one photo of the guy? Unbelievable.

Next she says:

"1. Most of them drive off road for thrill with no respect for fragile ecology.
2.Some of them found chasing wild animals.
3. Driving into the water bodies like Pangong lake, local water streams etc
4.Driving through the sand dunes
5. Camping in private properties without permission.
6.Dumping garbages ( bear bottles , wrappers) .
7. Driving through village fields etc etc."

I refuse to believe the "most" part for the first point and the implication that the local taxi drivers are some trained and certified ecologists. What I read elsewhere on the forum suggest quite the opposite, especially for the younger taxi drivers.

The section "Let us assume that court pass the ruling aginst taxi union. Do you think it gonna work?? #Ladakh is a small community and we all know each other in person. things can get worse and soon it will be an ego war. Those non Local driver will rather feel more unsafe..." is a thinly veiled threat disregarding what course the legal system may eventually take.

Pretty unpleasant overall. Don't know where this is heading to and how it will end.

[mayankk]

Here you go.
Ashnd may want to come in now.

There's an open threat. Regarding the court activities. There's still the delusion that they are sitting on a resource that is so irreplaceable that people will come in any case. Wake up buddy. You guys are going to be missing emis this year.
Maybe ban the collection agents too.



Edit : so, domestic Indian travelers, yeah?
Let's get onto tripadvisor and the like. Let the foreign visitors be warned as well.
This, and other threads, are being followed by the taxi and business owners. Let them have it internationally as well.

[anjan_c2007]

They are killing the tourism industry of their own hometowns and dwelling places. Earlier Ladakh and Leh were not so politicised and these places still had the aura of innocence and good hospitality by the local populace.

Once such incidents take place, the matters always worsen bit by bit. Hoteliers will lose business and so will eateries and all others whose livelihood depends on tourism. The few months that are conducive for tourism in such places are for earning by all those who rely on inflows of guests from outside as their source of income.

Some one hundred windscreens damaged and many cars damaged and so on will surely inconvenience the car owners, but the damage caused to the tourism industry will be manifold and long term and will be tough to recover from.