NEW DELHI, June 8
Following the death of nine people on a trek to Uttarakhand’s Malla-Silla-Kushkalyan-Sahastra-tal, the tour operator that took them has been ordered to temporarily suspend commercial trekking activities. It has also been booked for negligence.
In an official statement issued Friday, Uttarkashi administration said that the firm, Himalayan Company View Adventure Company, had prima facie been found negligent in the case and had ignored the safety guidelines issued to ensure trekkers’ safety.
“In this case, an order has been issued to Himalayan View Trekking Agency to stop commercial trekking work till further orders,” the statement said.
An FIR has been registered in the case under IPC sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) against the owner of the trekking agency, the statement said, adding investigation is ongoing. Earlier this week, the company had reported that a 22-member trek team — comprising 18 members from Karnataka, one from Maharashtra, and three local guides — that embarked on the Malla-Silla-Kushkalyan-Sahastra-tal trek on May 29 had lost their way after they were hit by bad weather. While the bodies of nine trekkers had been found, 13 trekkers were rescued.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident. Garhwal divisional commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey will head the inquiry panel.
