Authorities in Himachal Pradesh's tourist resort of Kufri have finally found a way to solve the problem posed by horse dung scattered on hill treks - and even profit from it.
Kufri, 16 km uphill from here, is visited every day by hordes of tourists, with many of them riding horses. There are about 700 horses in that mountain resort.Health officials, however, have pointed out that the animals were posing a threat to humans as their dung could have a toxic affect on the residents.
'If the dung is not properly disposed, the spore bacteria found in it could cause infections to humans here,' said Vijay Sharma, head of the microbiology department at the Indira Gandhi Medical College here.
Civic authorities have hit upon a profitable way out.
'We have come up with a plan for the proper disposal of horse dung at Kufri and converting it into organic fertiliser,' said Susheel Negi, the district magistrate of Shimla.
'We will make it mandatory for horse owners to attach carry bags to collect dung so that the roads are not littered with it,' he said.
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