Doom of Rishikesh - Once a heaven, now a jungle of concrete!!

I have always been a proud resident of one of the most beautiful places of India. But it has now turned into a big concrete jungle.

This is the Yoga Capital where I use to wake up to the sounds of bird chirping, now all I listen is the unbearable noise of heavy construction machines. The mornings which used to give the breath of fresh air, now only offers the dust and pollution from these construction sites. The roads on weekends are full of honking vehicles. Everywhere you step out in the city, you'll find high rise hotel buildings and under construction sites. There is no space for nature anymore, trees are cut down, all the industrial waste is being dumped to Ganga River, the aquatic life is affected, the birds have moved, and animals are losing their habitats to deforestation.

The city is only a big business opportunity for these rich industrialists and opportunists. Their marketing portfolios will suggest you come to Rishikesh to find peace, when they already have stripped all peace and tranquility the city had. 

It requires no research to predict the future of the city, the doom is visible to naked eye. And one of the major concerns here is that all of this is illegal too, still no authority has the power to stop this destruction of nature.

Here is my open letter to Government of India, from the residents of Rishikesh, Uttarakhand....

As per my knowledge, no new construction is permitted in the area falling within 200 meters from the banks of river, but forget the city, I can see more than four construction sites in my vicinity itself. 

I am sure there are some laws to prevent construction of commercial sites in residential colonies but there are more than five hotels constructed and under construction in my colony. Moreover, there is a parking plot of a hotel in this small residential lane. The big trucks, loaders and JCB's have completely disrupted the peaceful life of the residents and there is a constant danger of any mishappening. The trucks have collided with the walls of houses a few times, but the industrialist have the balls to threat the residents that they can barely raise a voice against it.

All these five-star hotels with crores of turnover are opening in the name of Ashrams and Wellness retreat centers to save taxes. They are openly evading taxes. The question is how the government allows them to do so? Do the taxes only apply to middle class service section? 

I am confused, is it government that runs the country, or the government is just a small entity in the pockets of these rich industrialists. How these illegal activities are openly permitted and who is responsible for it?

Not only Rishikesh, but this article also certainly applies to all beautiful tourist destinations of India, that have now turned into big construction sites and where massive traffic jams are constant on the weekends.

My question is....

Is the economic growth at the cost of health is worth it?
Is the growth of tourism industry at the cost of natural beauty of the tourist place is worth it? 

Can we expand our vision to look beyond the business and money? What we are seeing as growth is actually a step towards the doom of life on earth. The sooner we understand this the better.