Crisis Management Through Sports

Rafters could be helpful to people in distress during floods writes Mohamad Yousuf

Satisar, present Kashmir, was one of the largest water bodies in the sub-continent in ancient times. Mobility in water was difficult. For navigation, travelling or transporting goods from place to place, people used a flat floating structure made of logs. For carrying timber from far off places like Baramulla and Anantnag etc the people were tying logs with each other and row it to Srinagar till recent years. This type of wooden structure is called raft. Rafting, therefore, is not a new thing to Kashmir.

Initially rafting was a human need but with the passage of time it became an adventure sport, in which people paddle an inflatable raft down a fast-flowing and turbulent river, running over heavy rapids, deep holes, continuous waves and chutes etc . Rafting is a convenient way to travel into beautiful, remote areas that may otherwise be difficult to reach. Whitewater rafting has today become a popular recreational activity around the world. In India, Nepal and other neighboring countries this sport has become increasingly popular. Rafting is now a recognized competitive sport. Competitions are regularly held at national and international levels in many countries. Our own state does not lag behind in this growing tourist outdoor pursuit.

Modern river rafting first came to J&K perhaps in the year 1976 when an Indo-German expedition was launched on river Indus in Ladakh by Col. N. Kumar, accompanied by 2 Germans, Captain M.S. Kohli and a local Ski Instructor, Mr. Abdul Aziz Wani. It created world record when the team paddled down from 14,000 ft to 9,000 ft. Pertinently, the expedition was personally supervised by Late Jenab Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who was an avid Swimmer. After importing modern rafting equipment the Tourism Department initiated rafting programmes in Ladakh and Jammu. The J&K Youth Services and Sports also organized first and only river rafting training camp for school boys at Leh about 15 years back. In 1988 the Indo-USA team succeeded in the first and last successful attempt of the “Chenab” where members of the expedition were from Kashmir valley as well with Mr. Asaf Mehmood as its group leader. Many travel companies’ later organized commercial rafting expeditions on Indus and Zanaskar rivers from time to time. One such expedition was led by Mr. Rouf Tramboo. But till 1998 nobody seriously attempted Kashmir Rivers. Whitewater rafting was virtually introduced among masses in the valley by Kashmir University when they organized first-ever rafting training camp for its 30 students on the waters of Sindh in Sonamarg in the year 1998. They explored Baltal-Shitkari stretch, which is now considered the best place for training novices. Since then the University is regularly organizing training camps here. Many students, trained by the University, have participated in various national and international level championships on river Ganges, Satluj, Indus and Zanasakar. They have also braved some trecherous stretches of river Chenab and Suru etc. This writer got the opportunity to participate in an International Rafting Expedition on river Trisuli in Nepal in 1998. Today we have 13 Commercial Rafting Companies operating in Kashmir. Due to tourism failure this year these companies are fighting for survival and need incentives from Tourism Department.

Wildwater Rafting has come of age in the J&K State now. With the aim to further promote and develop this sport the Directorate of Tourism has come up with innovative programmes. Under the able guidance of Mr. Farooq Shah the Tourism department has successfully organized two National Rafting Championships in Ladakh Himalayas in 2005 and 2007, Ist State Rafting Championship at Pahalgam in 2007 and this year in July they organized First Kashmir Cup International Rafting Championship at Sonamarg. This was the largest International Rafting Championship ever held in India. It was in fact a harbinger of new era of wildwater sports in Kashmir. Such activities of international level will give significant boost to the ongoing efforts for promotion of adventure tourism in the state.

In the year 2004 some ex-students of Kashmir University formed Whitewater Rafting Association in Srinagar. The Association is presently led by Mr. Farooq Shah, Director Tourism. Under his dynamic leadership the Association rose to great heights in a short span of time. The Association was closely associated with State, national and International Rafting Championships, sponsored by Tourism Department for last two years. Besides national championships, the Association has regularly participated in India Cup International Rafting Championships from 2004 to 2007. It is also recipient of “Best Supporting team award” bestowed to it by the Indian Rafting Foundation in Himachal Pradesh.

Crisis Management programme of the WWRAJK:

Humans were caught by natural calamities and catastrophes from time immemorial. They did not know how to tackle the devastating situations or undertake rescue operation. But with the advent of modern technologies it became possible to rescue victims without much human loss. Crisis Management Departments are set up both at Centre and State Governments all over the country but unfortunately they could not properly execute their duty during emergencies due to lack of infrastructure and trained manpower. The sportsmen, who are fearless and are physically fit community, particularly the adventurers, could be useful for such rescue operations. Usually a Sports Association is dedicated to the development of sports in which it is involved but there are some special associations which could additionally extend help to the society in different manners like Marshal Art Associations can teach self defense to girls. Similarly, Rafters could help people in distress during floods, Skiers during snow storms or avalanches, climbers in fire fighting and rescue operations and swimmers in life saving etc. But to our dismay they have neglected this aspect of social work merely because they have not been educated about it by the Crisis Management Dep’t. To take a lead in this direction the Whitewater Rafting Association of J&K has decided to raise a Crisis Management team which would extend its help to the people in distress during floods in and outside the valley. The Association President, Mr. Farooq Shah advised the committee to arrange a training camp in which the members are trained to life saving, rescue work, first-aid, navigation and other related subjects which are useful to them for helping the people, trapped in the floods. The Committee agreed to procure some modern inflatable rafts made of Hypalon, which will be used for training local youth to rafting and crisis management programmes. These rafts generally range from 10 feet to 18 feet in length and carry anywhere from 4 to 13 people. For safety purposes rafts have six or seven separate air chambers, so that in case of a puncture the raft will remain afloat. Today we have self bailing boats which allow water to quickly drain out. Using traditional wooden boats (Shikaras) during floods could be very risky as it doesn’t have capacity to carry heavy loads and self bailing ability. Once the water enters in such boats it suddenly capsizes and could be fatal for flood victims at times. The wooden boats can never be useful on turbulent or fast flowing waters. The Crisis Management Department must involve NGOs for rescue work and provide them financial assistance for raising required equipment. There are many Sports Associations which are ready to extend help to State Crisis Management Department during floods, snow storms, and devastating fires etc. Not only Crisis Management Mr. Farooq Shah advised the Committee to organize a Seminar and a Boat Rally on river Jhelum to create awareness about the preservation of water bodies in the state, which is certainly a laudable idea of Mr. Shah.

Published on 25h November 2008 in the Daily Rising Kashmir, Srinagar