Coke and Pepsi advertisements painted on rocks along the 56-kilometre stretch from Manali to Rohtang Pass will not be scraped for a little while longer. Instead, a sheet of ice will cover the boulders. The drive to remove the ads of the soft drink multinational giants and other leading Indian companies en route to the pass in Himachal Pradesh has been deferred till March 2003 due to snowfall in the region. Nature, it seems, has taken care of the defacement -- at least for now.
"The work is being stopped due to the arrival of winter in Kullu Valley," said Ashok Pandey, a member of the team deployed by the Supreme Court to remove these advertisements. An ecofriendly paste made of various chemicals is being used to scrape these ads from rocks and boulders on the 56-kilometre stretch from Manali to Rohtang Pass, 3,915 metres above sea level.
The desecration of rocks came into focus in August 2002 when a leading national daily reported that Coca-Cola and Pepsi logos were painted on natural rock formations. The cola brands, which held their franchisees responsible, are not the only offenders. Dozens of domestic companies have opted for this inexpensive method to catch the attention of vacationers. (See: Down To Earth, Vol 11, No 10, October 15, 2002).
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