E-ticketing application BookMyShow on Saturday removed a night trek listed on its platform after the Karnataka’s Tourism Minister Priyank Kharge threatened action against the company. Treks at night are banned in the state, Kharge told the company on Twitter.
The event Kharge objected to, a trek in the popular Kunti Betta near Mysuru, was scheduled from Saturday night.
“We will have to take action against the organisers and you for promoting treks that are illegal, if immediate action is not taken,” Kharge told BookMyShow. He also sought details about the organisers of the treks.
BookMyShow called it a “lapse” and said it had removed the event from the application.
Kharge said the government endorsed 11 eco-trails in the state, and urged adventure enthusiasts “not to fall prey to night treks promoted by individuals or organisations”. He said they could be dangerous.
Sridhar Punnati, the principal chief conservator of forests in Karnataka, told The News Minute that all night treks in the state’s forests were unauthorised. “Safety is an issue during night treks,” he said. “There are some leopard areas, and some sloth bear areas. We are not against night trekking, but there is a need for a proper system to take care of all these aspects, after which we can start allowing night treks. In order to regulate this, we at the Forest Department and Eco-Tourism department have started some trails.”
This came two weeks after a forest fire in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district, in which 19 trekkers died. The Tamil Nadu government had said the trekkers did not have the required permissions to be in the hills that evening.
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