Rishikesh: Taking a leap towards women empowerment, Uttarakhand tourism department has trained a group of young women professionals, equipping them with the necessary resources to regulate rafting activities in Rishikesh. Now women adventure sports professionals will manage rafting services on the Ganga River in the Rishikesh, traditionally dominated by male rafters.
Under this initiative, 14 women have been trained as white-water river rafting guides by the tourism department. Now, once their registration process gets complete, these young professionals will be able to work as river rafting guides.
14 women received white water river rafting guide certification this year
These newly trained 14 women will be officially registered to oversee rafting activities on the Ganga River. According to a government press release, these professional rafting guides will now embark on careers in this field, enhancing their independence. The upper Rishikesh area, a prominent rafting hub, attracts over 500,000 tourists annually. Rafting has become a significant source of business and employment for the region’s youth, a sector previously dominated by men.
This will encourage more girls to come forward and take up adventure sports as a career
Notably, the initiative to train women as rafting guides is part of a special scheme launched by the state tourism department under the guidance of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. From April to June 2024, a three-month free training program was conducted for a select group of 14 women, who are now set to pursue careers in this field. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for young girls like us to turn our skills into a profession. This will inspire more girls to take up adventure sports as a career, offering excellent employment opportunities,” said Priyanka Rana, a BBA student from Siransu village in Pauri district.
It will prove to be an important step towards empowering the women of Uttarakhand
Muskan, a resident of Rishikesh and currently a university student, was part of the first batch of trainees. Over three months, she received river rafting training from international instructors. During this period, she participated in an all-women rafting expedition from Devprayag to Rishikesh, which she found to be an incredible experience. Muskan is now eager to pursue a career in this field and expresses her gratitude to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for this opportunity.
On this, CM Dhami said, “There are immense employment opportunities in the field of adventure tourism in Uttarakhand, now a large number of women tourists are also coming for rafting. In such a situation, efforts are being made to train women as raft guides. It is a good thing that women have Interest has been shown for this, this will prove to be an important step towards empowering the daughters and women of Uttarakhand.”
