Heaven to Hell

Talking about Heaven the first image comes in my mind is of my Hometown Himachal. The beautiful mountains, valleys and rivers are really mesmerizing, that attract a lot of tourism in the state.

The state of himachal is spread over 55,673 km² and is boderded with Jammu Kasmir, Punjab, Haryan, Uttrakhand and Tibet. Elevation ranges from 450 metres to over 7,026(Shilla Peak) metres above sea level (Highest point Shilla). Himachal is well known for its rich flora. Forests cover about 38% of the state's area. It has a variety of wildlife, too. Himachal has 49 cities and towns. The smallest town is Naina Devi and the largest is Shimla with a total state population of 6,856,509. Urban population is only 7.5% of the state population. Most of the population resides in rural areas.

Shimla district has the largest urban population in the state at 25%. The villages have good connectivity with roads and public health centres. Practically all houses have a toilet and 100% hygiene has been achieved in the state. Notable actions by the state government include a ban on polyethylene bags and tobacco products. According to a survey of CMS - India Corruption Study 2017, Himachal Pradesh is India's least corrupt state. Many perennial rivers flow in the state with numerous hydropower plants producing surplus electricity that is sold to other states, such as Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal. Tourism and agriculture are also important constituents of the state's economy. The state has one of the highest per-capita incomes among the Indian states and union territories.
Himachal Pradesh is one of the states that lies in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), one of the richest reservoirs of biological diversity in the world. The IHR is currently undergoing large scale irrational extraction of wild, medicinal herbs, thus endangering many of its high-value gene stock. To address this, a workshop on ‘Endangered Medicinal Plant Species in Himachal Pradesh’ was held in 2002 and the conference was attended by forty experts from diverse disciplines. The state of Himachal Pradesh is divided into 12 districts which are grouped into three divisions, Shimla, Kangra and Mandi. The state also has many important Hindu pilgrimage sites with prominent temples like Naina Devi Temple,  Jwala Ji Temple, Chintpurni, Baijnath Temple, Bijli Mahadev and Jakhoo Temple. It is also called the Land of the Gods on account of the Hindu belief that deities like Lord Shiva considered the Himalayas their abode, and much of the state is located among the Himalayan mountains. The state is also known for its adventure tourism activities like ice skating in Shimla, paragliding in Bir Billing and Solang valley, rafting in Kullu, skiing in Manali, boating in Bilaspur and trekking, horse riding and fishing in different parts in the state. 

Places to visit

•  Kullu-Manali:- One of the best places to visit in Himachal Pradesh is Kullu and Manali. If you are on a lookout for fresh air and green mountains amidst the snow covered ranges then Kullu Manali.
  

• Shimla:- One of the most famous hill stations of Northern India – Shimla which is the right mix of Indian glory with British sophistication.it is consecrated stunning landscape and fresh climate all through the year.
  
• Dharamshala :-  Dharamsala definitely has to be on your list of best places to visit in Himachal Pradesh. Famous not only because of its climate but also you get to see how multicultural Indian community lives in harmony with the Indo Tibetan community.
  
• Bir Billing:- If you’re an adventure seeker, Bir Billing is the mecca for adventure sports and it has to be on your list of places to visit in Himachal Pradesh. Bir is a small village which is located in the western side of Himachal Pradesh and is blessed with some refreshing climate.
  
  
  
  
  
• Malana:- Looking for digital detox, then Malana is the place you must visit in Himachal Pradesh in August. Situated near the Kullu Valley, Malana provides spellbinding views of the Deo Tiba and Chandrakhani crests.
  
• Kasol:- Known as the little Israel of India in Himachal Pradesh, based in the Parvati Valley is this beautiful hill station called Kasol. Its just on the way to the holy town of Manikaran. 
  

 Himachal tour map 


But with the blessing, Himachal is dealing with many modern day challenges the major one is pollution. The whole world is fighting with pollution nowadays and within India many major cities are fighting with this slowly Himachal is also facing. Keeping in mind the forest region (Out of total 55,673 sq km geographic area in the state, the forest comprises 37,033 sq km, which is 4.80% of total forests in the country) the industries and increased human activities is degrading the environment.
Ecology has been given importance in the state during the last few years. Industries becoming the cause of water or air pollution are not encouraged. Every industrial project has to be passed by the clearance of the Environment Protection Organization before its establishment but it does effect the environment.
Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh (BBN) in Nalagarh tehsil of Solan District (Himachal Pradesh) has witnessed rapid industrialization since 2003 when the Central Government announced an industrial subsidy package for the state.
A large number of the units here are polluting in nature, like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, plastics, dying units and boilers. Heavy extraction of ground water, ground water pollution, toxicity in air, fly ash and hazardous waste dumping have been the key problems.
Air pollution is the biggest, most urgent, crisis facing this area. The BBN region nearly made it to the Central Pollution Control Board’s list of “critically polluted” areas list in 2009. Air samples have shown the presence of heavy metals like mercury, lead, manganese, nickel and cadmium in the air, which could be fatal for the local population. 
And the second problem to the environment is increased tourism, because of this it is facing many problems like 

• Decreased life quality of locals :- The locals are really facing problems because the lifestyle they were following get changed with the over tourism in the place.
• Fall in reputation and losing place identity:- A quarter of the respondents stated that over tourism reduces the quality of a place, harms the place product and, consequently, decreases its reputation. This, on the other hand, takes away the authenticity of a place and has a strong impact on its identity.
• Price rise and concern of sustainability:- The flow of tourists ruins the sustainability of the city life. Similarly, rising prices of housing, deterioration of services and stressed traffic and infrastructures were mentioned by several respondents, as these are the everyday situations that gradually lead to the decrease of life quality.
• Garbage:- As a tourist one must not throw litters all around the places, But many people doesn't follow the norms and give their waste to mother nature as a gift for such beauty. But it really effect nature badly many substances takes year to degrade (like plastic bag).

 Suggestions

For the industries Government have to take strict actions and should make them follow the norms and industrialist also have to come up from making money to saving the environment for future. For the over tourism State should restrict the entry of excess crowd in the region and should take strict actions against the person harming or causing damage to the state's environment. Plastic Bags and other hazardous material should be ban & prohibit in the region.