Hill stations in India are struggling to cope with increasing footfalls.
Once tranquil getaways are getting run over by tourists.
In season the civic facilities are stretched to the seams and vehicular traffic plays havoc in fragile habitat.
To preserve the innate beauty of these places, measures need to be taken.
Matheran, near Mumbai, has set the ball rolling by not allowing any vehicles within two kilometres of its radius.
Visitors park well away from the town, and then walk or go on horse back.
The only mechanized contraption that goes into this little hill town is the charming toy train.
Small wonder, there's not a semblance of exhaust in the mountain air of Matheran.
And that's how it has retained its beauty.
Other hill stations, especially the ones in the fragile Himalayas need to take a leaf out of Maharashtra Tourism's approach.
Matheran - Asia's only pedestrian hill station - is a shining beckon of what this approach can achieve.
Smaller hill stations such as Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh are ideally positioned to implement this without much difficulty.
Most of the factors for adopting this are already in place.
Small in size, visitors used to driving around town would soon get used to walking.
Being an army controlled area, enforcing the rule too shouldn't be much of an issue.
This example can then be used to educate people on the pros of this approach to others.
Likewise, Ranikhet can be the town to implement this approach in Uttarakhand.
Once these have been been successfully implemented, the bigger towns such as Shimla, Manali, Mussoorie and Nainital can be brought under this rule.
Having said that, the bigger towns might need a slightly altered approach because of the distances involved.
For a start the core 'walking zone' can be expanded.
And more 'walking zones' created.
As of now only the Mall road of Shimla and Manali are out of mounds for vehicles.
Mussoorie and Nainital have restricted entries.
Shimla, of the big four, should be relatively easier to implement for local civic authorities.
Like Matheran it has a rail line that takes visitors right into the heart of town.
The benefits of this approach are manifold.
Hill stations were originally designed as walking zones, and this will encourage visitors to go back to the healthy ways of the past.
This would also contribute to their carbon footprints tally.
Mind you this also a great way to fill your lungs with fresh mountain air.
These apart, one would also be playing a part in contributing to the cause of lowering air and noise pollution.
Habitat affects everyone.
Every individual contributing to the larger cause can turn things around quicker than we think.
It is time to undo the excesses of the past.
Beaches in India can also look to adopt this.
Hill stations and seaside towns draw a lot of tourists in season.
This can lead to serious environmental damage.
'Prevention is better than cure' goes the old adage.
Hence small, pristine seaside town such as Tarkarli, Sindhudurg, Gopalpur et al.
should also take a closer look at the 'Matheran formula'.