Kullu (HP), Oct 16 An acute shortage of fuelwood has triggered distress across Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, including Manali, Tirthan and Parvati valleys, with households and the hospitality sector struggling to secure supplies ahead of winter.
The crisis has been compounded by a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders, forcing hotels to turn to firewood, coal and diesel burners for cooking, while government fuelwood depots have begun rationing supplies, according to locals and hoteliers.
Kullu is known for its traditional winter culture centred around the bukhari, a wood-burning metal heater that is also used for cooking.
Sanjay Dutta, a hotel owner in Manali, said more than 4,000 registered hotels in the town and over 1,000 hotels in the Jibhi-Tirthan belt were facing pressure to shift to alternative fuels amid the LPG shortage.
Hoteliers said their monthly fuel expenses had crossed Rs 3 lakh, forcing them to increase food prices by 20-25 per cent.
The district Food and Civil Supplies Department has acknowledged difficulties in meeting the demand for commercial LPG.
The shortage of fuelwood has further aggravated the situation, with timber and fuelwood sale depots of the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Van Vikas Nigam in Shamshi and adjoining areas rationing supplies.
Government data indicates a declining trend in dense forest cover in Kullu, even as rural households continue to depend heavily on forests for fuel.
The restrictions on felling six broad-leaved tree species — Toon, Padam, Ritha, Baan, Mango and Triyambal — for 10 years, along with a limit of five trees annually for domestic use, have further constrained legal supplies, said Tulsi Devi, a homemaker from Batahar village.
District Forest Officer Kanha Ram Godhara of the HP State Forest Development Corporation Ltd told PTI that annual fuelwood consumption in the Kullu region was around 10,000 quintals, while consumption in Lahaul and Spiti ranged between 30,000 and 40,000 quintals.
The marking of salvage wood in Kullu forests has declined sharply due to the non-availability of fallen trees, Godhara said, adding that the global energy crisis and the subsequent LPG shortage increased the burden on forests.
Most in the Kullu region depend on forests for fuelwood, particularly in rural areas, a villager said, estimating winter consumption at about 5 kg per person per day.
With winter approaching, the Forest Development Corporation is facing challenges as the sole supplier of fuelwood in the Kullu region and a major supplier to the tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti.
Godhara said that in the best-case scenario, the corporation hoped to procure 5,000-6,000 quintals of fuelwood for Kullu residents and another 6,000-7,000 quintals for Lahaul and Spiti.
Villagers in the Great Himalayan National Park Eco-Zone alleged that restrictions on their traditional forest rights, including Bartandari and timber distribution (TD) rights, had forced them to rely on open-market purchases.
They have demanded the opening of additional retail fuelwood depots in Manali, Bhuntar and Banjar, with fixed monthly quotas for locals. They have also sought the reservation of at least 30-40 per cent of forest coupes for local fuelwood sales instead of auctions, along with an uninterrupted supply of commercial LPG to hotels to ease pressure on forests.
Officials of the HP State Forest Development Corporation said the matter was being reviewed and supplies would be augmented through the National Transit Pass System (NTPS) and the promotion of permit-free agroforestry species such as Poplar, Safeda and Bamboo.
(PTI News)
