A 35-kilometre stretch of reservoir in the Himalayan hills just got a turbo-charged new identity. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday, 24 October 2026, virtually inaugurated adventure water-sports activities at the Kol Dam reservoir in Aehan, Mandi district — turning a hydroelectric asset into a leisure frontier and, the government hopes, a jobs engine for local youth.

Speed boats, jet skis and a 20-seat mini-cruise on the Sutlej

The activity menu reads like a hill-station bucket list: speed boats, jet skis, banana boats, bumper rides, and a mini-cruise vessel with a capacity of 20 passengers. All of these will operate across the reservoir's Aehan-to-Tattapani corridor — a scenic expanse along the Sutlej river in Mandi. Tattapani, the downstream anchor of the stretch, is already known to travellers for its hot springs, giving the new water-sports zone a ready feeder audience.

CM Sukhu, joining the launch virtually from Shimla, framed the initiative as a dual-purpose move: broadening Himachal Pradesh's tourism appeal beyond temples and trekking, while creating 'rozgaar evam swarozgaar ke naye avsar' — new employment and self-employment opportunities — for the region's young population.

Who stood where: the Shimla and Aehan platforms

The ceremony unfolded across two locations simultaneously. At the Shimla end, Assembly Speaker Kuldip Singh Pathania, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, State Planning Board Vice-Chairman Bhawani Singh Pathania, and former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sohan Singh Thakur were present. At the event site in Aehan, Water Management Board Vice-Chairman Shashi Sharma represented the on-ground administration alongside other dignitaries.

Kol Dam's second life: from megawatts to mooring points

Kol Dam is a large multipurpose hydroelectric project on the Sutlej in Mandi district. Its reservoir, by sheer geography — a long, calm, mountain-framed expanse — offers conditions that whitewater rivers cannot: predictable water levels, accessible banks, and stretch enough for high-speed runs. State governments have periodically explored turning such reservoirs into tourism assets, recognising that the infrastructure of power generation — access roads, shorelines, controlled water release — doubles as a tourism backbone at low marginal cost.

This launch fits a broader Himachal Pradesh pattern of layering recreational economies onto hydro infrastructure. Similar pilots at other reservoir sites over the past decade have had mixed results, with the critical variables being private-operator quality, year-round accessibility, and safety oversight — all areas that will be watched closely as this 35-km stretch moves from inauguration to daily operations.

What tourism numbers this could move

Mandi district sits at the geographic heart of Himachal Pradesh and draws steady pilgrim and leisure traffic. Adventure tourism — river rafting on the Beas, paragliding at Bir-Billing — has proven in the state that high-adrenaline activities command premium pricing and repeat visits. Water sports at a calm reservoir lower the entry barrier: they are family-friendly, require less physical conditioning, and can operate outside peak monsoon windows. If managed well, the Kol Dam corridor could absorb overflow from more saturated destinations and anchor a new tourist circuit between Mandi town and Tattapani.

For the government, the arithmetic is straightforward — operators pay lease fees, tourists pay activity charges, locals staff the boats and the cafés. Whether the inauguration momentum translates into a functioning seasonal economy is the real test now.