Team detained, and face 2 month prison sentence

Our team has just been released after being held in detention by armed guards for the past 24 hours, with little food or water. At one point we had been looking at a drawn out court case, with a possible 2 month prison sentence. Early this morning we managed to ‘negotiate’ our release for $500.

Zak hands over the cash to one of the officials.

Our offense! Kayaking a in the protected area of Nunda Davi, without a permit. This has thrown up a heap of beauracy, and contradictions within the Indian legal system.

In Uttaranchal, no ‘kayak’ permit exists, so it is not possible to be in possession of one. On entering the Nunda Davi region we enquired at the local tourist office, and were told we did not need a permit to enter this area, as we had done in other national parks we have been paddling in. On the way up the Dhauli Ganga drainage, we passed only one check point which was unmanned.

However in the afternoon of 31st October, we were picked up from the river, our equipment confiscated, and were escorted under armed guard to a military base in Joshimat, where we have been held.

One of our offences was for environmental damages caused to a protected biosphere. The irony is that the forestry commission are overseeing dozens of Hydro power projects in the very area they are suposed to be protecting. The environmental impact we have seen from these, by the destruction of natural habitats, displacement of local communities, and destruction of the forest, (which has been cut down to provide fire wood for the migrant work force), is huge in comparison to that of 6 kayakers floating down the river!

The Dhauli Ganga.

We are now back on the road, but with many of the official in the region having been informed about our presence, we are unsure if we will be able to continue exploring this region as hoped.