Is life in Himachal similar to life in Switzerland and Austria?
Posted by: Nitin Negi TB
07/06/2022. 15:12 PM IST
I completely agree. LIFE in Himachal can be hard. Having traveled across much of EU , I have personally experienced that Alps countries pretty much resemble Geographical Himachal. That’s Y I have only mentioned Geographical Factors .
Switzerland and Austria are some of the wealthiest countries on the planet. Himachal Pradesh is a Himalayan state in India. Though rapidly developing, a higher income economy and Higher HDI state, Himachal lags Far behind living standards of these countries. Life is not similar in Himachal and Swiss, in fact there is a huge contrast. Although, I agree that geographically Himachal and Swiss both are similar but still life depends mostly on wealth. Belonging to Shimla and travelled to Swiss as well, I can say that life is way too hard in Himachal. Swiss is a heaven to live, no struggle at all. No power or water shortage even in extreme snowfall, no road blocks and train network is super strong all around Switzerland. In contrast, Himachal has all these issues. City management are a distater in Himachal, no heed is given to the scientific way of city planning, drinking clean water isn’t available to all, roads are poorly constructed, etc.
Geographically, yes , Himachal is more or less same as Swiss and you won’t feel much of a difference in the beauty tbh but when it comes to living in Swiss and Himachal, it’s way too different.
Forget about cities, we don’t even have planned towns. Massive unplanned infrastructure here and there popping up in a dangerously High Earthquake prone zone. Resort towns like Manali and Shimla where people from across the country churning huge money and giving a blunt middle finger to the Environment. Irresponsible tourists escaping heat waves in Indian plains and littering here and there. Alarming high temperatures each year due to incompetent authorities who fail to contain Forest fires burning millions of wild animals alive to death.
Well, the people who were once said to be honest and simple are now big Show off. Massive houses, big cars but small and narrow attitudes. Dying debt ridden businesses and clueless Youth who either want Non existent fancy jobs or booze all day. Corrupt officials bagging huge salaries and doing nothing for the state.
The picturesque Himalayan Mountains whose Snowline is dramatically receding with each passing year, Himachal Pradesh is doomed in coming years if this persists.
Expansion of Highways by chopping off hundreds of years old trees in the name of development and ironically 80% of traffic with Non HP vehicles because, HP people who buy fancy cars seldom drive due to living life beyond their means is a new normal.
No railway network which compete those said nations and definitely not a single road matching EU standards.
All this doesn’t mean that Himachal is worse and playing suicidal but It’s not developing the way it should. We are doomed if this goes on for over a decade. Forget about Switzerland and Austria, it would be great if we can save the current pathetic situation.
Himachal Pradesh is on the verge of self destruction.
But, There are a lot of geographical similarities between Himachal Pradesh, Switzerland and Austria. All of the above are great tourism destinations.
Yet , on a very lighter note, we can analyse through few things about life in Himachal Pradesh.
Apple orchards in Kotkhai- Shimla District. Himachal Pradesh is called the Apple Bowl of Asia and is the largest exporter of Trademark Himalayan and Golden Apple, exported to many Countries while Production and Processing facilities are among the best in the world.
Khajiar- a top tourist destination is among 160 places across the world which exactly resembles the Topography of Switzerland and is Officially called Mini Switzerland of India.
Worlds Highest Long Distance Highway Tunnel . Atal Tunnel is a modern engineering marvel connecting two geographically distinct regions, Kullu and Lahaul Valley
The Ridge - Shimla in Winters. Erstwhile capital of British India, Punjab and current capital of Himachal, the city is the most favoured Honeymoon Destination in Indian Subcontinent.
The Great Himalayan National Park is located in Kullu District and is an UNESCO world Heritage Site.
Himachal Pradesh is geographically diverse and larger than Switzerland by some 10000 sq Km. Although, the state has roughly half the population than its Swiss counterpart.
Although, Himachal Pradesh is a high HDI , high income economy and is a leading state in India standing at 2nd Position in SDS scale , simply a developed region only after Kerala and it has a highly regulated Tourism and Pharmaceutical Industry, the largest in Asia, It would take over 20 years before we can start comparing life here with there. Firstly People need to change else it will always be Huge Difference.
Himachal don't have proper garbage disposal, Garbage is just dumped on mountain slopes. Even cities like Shimla has bad garbage management. While Swiss has proper recycling and garbage disposal.
Also Himachal has acute water shortage, which Swizz don't have.
Thanks for Reading 👏👏👏👏
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