Forest Dept starts reinstalling solar lights on Himani Chamunda temple track

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Dharamsala, January 16

The forest authorities and the district administration have started reinstalling the solar lights on the track to Himani Chamunda temple in Kangra district. The lights were damaged by the forest officials recently on the plea that they were put up on forest land without taking permission.

Sources said that after deliberations with forest officials, the district administration has started the process of seeking permission from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to exempt the track to Himani Chamunda temple from forest area.

The act of the Forest Department damaging the lights had led to outrage in Dharamsala region. The residents of Chamunda area, who had installed the lights with help from district administration, were upset. Following public outrage, local Congress MLA Sudhir Sharma had got an FIR registered against unknown people who had damaged the solar lights.

The BJP leaders from Dharamsala also organised protest against damaging solar lights and submitted a memorandum to the district administration. The sources here said that the Forest Department acted on a complaint in which it was alleged that the solar lights on temple track were causing light pollution and affecting wildlife in the area.

The sources said that after outrage in Dharamsala, forest officials ordered reinstallation of the lights following the intervention of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who also holds the portfolio of forest department.

The track to Himani Chamunda temple is about 12 km long. Successive governments in Himachal had been trying to develop the temple as religious tourist spot. Initially, the BJP government led by former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2011 had tried to start heli taxi service to temple. However, the project failed to take off with change of government.

The Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh in 2015 allotted the project for the development of ropeway up to temple to Usha Breco company. The project was cancelled by the previous BJP government as the company did not start work at the ground level within stipulated time period.

Various proposals were made to develop the track to Himani Chamunda temple but no progress was made. Then locals got together and made contributions and they have been developing the infrastructure at the temple.