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The Bhujbas Shelter Project:
Welcome to the Indian Himalayas. Located at the gateway of the famous Gangotri Glacier complex, Bhujbas is
the perfect place for a Porter Shelter. Every year, apart from hundreds of trekking and mountaineering teams going in to the
Gangotri glacier complex; thousands of pilgrims pass by Bhujbas on their way to the Gomukh (the snout of Gangotri glacier,
the source of the holy river Ganga). After a carrying up a mountain of load from Gangotri, or after a tricky day on the
moraines of Gangotri glacier, we want to offer warm shelter to our porter friends of Garwal. In the Bhujbas Project, they
will have a mattress to crash and a blanket to keep them warm. Yes, it’s going to be very basic. Basic, but clean and
hygienic with first aid facilities. In Bhujbas they do not even get these basic requirements. It’s been like this since
the early exploration days. And its time to do something about it! And the time is NOW! And most importantly, for the porter
friends it’s going to be FREE accommodation!In near future hopefully we will be able to use the shelter as a rescue
post as well.
The plan:
The idea is to provide free shelter and first aid to our porter friends. We want to keep it simple and basic. This will help
us keep the costs down and also be environ friendly. By using tents, the shelter will be portable, cheaper and will be in
use for 5 months in a year. The shelter will be operational during the following months: May, June, September, October and
till mid November
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| carrying a mountain of load with a smile |
A Shelter up in the Himalaya :
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| Shelter project site at Bhujbas,Gangotri |
Initiated by Anindya Mukherjee along with some of his
buddies, Adventure Mania is a climbing & trekking guide service. Anindya mostly known as Raja is the Country Rep for IPPG
(International Porter Protection Group) is all set to start a porter shelter in Bhujbas. This project has received support&
endorsements from the IPPG and by Dr. Jim Duff; the International coordinator of IPPG. This is the first shelter project
of it’s kind in Indian Himalaya. Hopefully there will be more in future as climbers/hikers become more aware of this
situation.
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