Alliance Air, the subsidiary of Air India Ltd, is resuming its flight operations thrice a week between Delhi and Kullu from July 16, an official said. Alliance Air is the only airline conducting sorties to Kullu for a long time. The airline had suspended operation after a nationwide lockdown. The domestic flights in the country had recommenced operations from May 25 but the airline had cancelled its sortie to Kullu as it could not get slot at Delhi airport. “The flight will operate on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Airline will be deploying its 70-seater ATR 72 aircraft for the route. Flight 9I 805 will depart Delhi at 6:45am for Kullu and land at 8:05am. The flight 9I 806 will depart Kullu at 8:30am and arrive in Delhi at 9:50am. The booking is available online or through our travel agents,” an official from Alliance Air said. He said that the flight will be adhering to all government guidelines and standard operation procedures (SOPs) issued by Ministry of Civil Aviation. “All required precautionary measures will be taken inside the aircraft as well as at time of check-in, boarding and arrival. The aircrafts are being disinfected rigorously after each flight to eliminate any risk of infection,” he added. Himachal has three airports -- Gaggal in Kangra, Jubbarhatti in Shimla and Bhuntar in Kullu. The runways in Himachal being short in length, only ATR 72 and ATR 42 planes land here and the planes already face load penalty of 30 to 50 passengers which is almost half the capacity. Social distancing will not be a major problem as even in general conditions sometimes only one passenger sits in one row following the load penalty. And check-in counters and arrivals never witness passenger crowd. While three flights a day were already operating to Gaggal airport,
Alliance Air, the subsidiary of Air India Ltd, is resuming its flight operations thrice a week between Delhi and Kullu from July 16, an official said. Alliance Air is the only airline conducting sorties to Kullu for a long time. The airline had suspended operation after a nationwide lockdown. The domestic flights in the country
On this page, we shall keep updating the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) impacts on the Himachal and Kullu Manali Tourism. Update on July 7, 2020 Manali hotels to remain closed for tourists till September amid Covid-19 crisis Expressing their inability in hosting the tourists from other states during the times of Covid-19 crisis, the hotels, guesthouses and homestay owners in Manali on Tuesday decided to remain shut till September. The hotel owners took this decision unanimously. They said they will demand from the government to conduct special training camps for staff of the hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, taxi drivers and all the tourism units and local stakeholders regarding safe operation during Covid-19 crisis. The hoteliers expressed dissatisfaction over the government's standard operating procedures (SOPs) and said both tourism units and the public of Manali are not ready for the tourism. "We are not ready mentally, physically and practically. The government issued SOP and order to open Himachal in hurriedness without checking if hoteliers are ready enough to resume operations safely. We are thankful to the government that it thought about revival of the tourism industry of the state. But we first need special training on sanitisation, proper disposal of the medial waste, how to treat the tourists etc. The local residents who are opposing opening of tourism activities also need to be taken in confidence to avoid scuffles," the hoteliers said. The hotel owners decided that monsoon season in July and August is the time when the state receives the lowest number of tourists, so they will have two full months for preparations. They will have another meeting in September and decide on future strategy. If required, depending on Covid-19 cases in the state and the country, we can further extend the opening time of the hotels, the hoteliers said.
On this page, we shall keep updating the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) impacts on the Himachal and Kullu Manali Tourism. Update on July 7, 2020 Manali hotels to remain closed for tourists till September amid Covid-19 crisis Expressing their inability in hosting the tourists from other states during the times of Covid-19 crisis, the hotels,
Manali Winter Carnival 2020 Start Date: January 02, 2020 End Date: January 06, 2020 Address: Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India Main attractions: Local culture, local cuisines, winter sports, Winter Queen beauty pageant, Voice of Carnival, folk dances, western dances, street plays, fashion shows, baby shows, magic shows and many more Influence: National Level Event Purpose: To boost winter tourism Organizers: DC Kullu is chairman and SDM Manali is vice-chairman with both government and non-government members Timing: Opening at 7AM on 2nd January and cultural and other programmes will be held between 11 AM and 10 PM daily The Manali Winter Carnival, the largest tourism event of Himachal showcasing the local culture and winter sports to attract tourists during the lean winter season, will be celebrated between January 2 and 6, 2020, an official said here. Tourists will get to experience local culture, dance, songs, sports, local cuisines, tableaus, winter sports and many more during five days. While the colourful programmes to woo tourists will continue in the town, winter sports like skiing and snowboarding will be organized at Solang valley near the town. Over 4,000 local women will actively participate in the event to give it a local touch. Aimed to boost the winter tourism and promote local culture, the national level winter carnival will begin with the presentation of over a hundred cultural tableaus and processions. Besides the participation of cultural troops from many other states, the tourists will get to see folk performances of all districts of Himachal while over 120 mahila mandals have agreed to participate. The mahila mandals will present folk dances on the Mall Road here for five days. Tourists will get a chance to dance on the Kullu folk tunes. Fashion show during Winter Carnival at Manu Rangshala of Manali Winter Queen pageant, where beauties
Manali Winter Carnival 2020 Start Date: January 02, 2020 End Date: January 06, 2020 Address: Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India Main attractions: Local culture, local cuisines, winter sports, Winter Queen beauty pageant, Voice of Carnival, folk dances, western dances, street plays, fashion shows, baby shows, magic shows and many more Influence: National Level Event Purpose: To
As the administration is allowing tourist vehicles to ply the Manali-Rohtang highway in the daytime, hundreds of tourists have made a beeline to Rohtang pass to enjoy the fresh snow. Rohtang is covered with 10 to 20cm of powder snow which will last for few more weeks. Earlier this month administration had stopped tourist movement to Rohtang pass after some vehicles had stranded in snowfall. The Manali administration is now allowing tourist vehicles to go to snow point at Rohtang pass in day time. But the tourists need to leave Rohtang for Manali in the afternoon before icing of the road in the evening time. A large number of tourists are thronging Rohtang every day. “We were given a surprise in the form of fresh snow at Rohtang pass. This was one of the best surprises we ever received,” a tourist from West Bengal Deepak Ojha said. He added that they had booked the tour to Himachal a long back and had not expected to see snow in Manali in October. “We were surprised to see the whole area covered with white blanket. We had a lot of fun all the day.” Another tourist from Delhi, Amit Rathore, said he and his wife planned trip to Manali after hearing news about snowfall at Rohtang pass. “This is our second trip to Manali. Last time we could not see snow. We left Delhi for Manali on Sunday morning and visited Rohtang on Monday. It was an amazing experience. There were no traffic jam and no maddening crowd as we had faced last time,” he said. Most of tourists visiting Himachal these days are from West Bengal. The hoteliers, who complained about weak summer tourist season this year, are still complaining of lean season. Tourist inflow increased since Dussehra but hoteliers say
As the administration is allowing tourist vehicles to ply the Manali-Rohtang highway in the daytime, hundreds of tourists have made a beeline to Rohtang pass to enjoy the fresh snow. Rohtang is covered with 10 to 20cm of powder snow which will last for few more weeks. Earlier this month administration had stopped tourist movement
In a public hearing organized by town and country planning (TCP) sub-committee in Manali to know the public views, all the people opposed TCP rules being enforced in the village areas as the Act was not practical in congested villages with limited land. The Himachal government will organize public hearings in different parts of the state to know the public views and to hear grievances. The TCP Act is likely to be amended based on the public opinion. The first such public hearing was organizing in Manali which was chaired by forest and transport minister Govind Singh Thakur who is the member of cabinet sub-committee for exclusion or inclusion of TCP areas. Besides TCP, officials from all the departments were present on the occasion. Villagers, hoteliers, stakeholders and panchayat representatives were present in the hearing. The present people were given chance to share their opinion and grievances one by one. All the people present on the occasion unanimously said that given the tough geography of Kullu district and limited land in congested villages, it was impossible to follow the strict rules of the TCP. As hoteliers are most affected by the TCP Act, a large number of hotel owners were present in the hearing. “The TCP department should have formed village level committees before making and enforcing the new TCP Act which brings villages under its purview. The villages are densely populated and everybody has limited land. If a person has a house on 150sqm land and he has three children who further want to build their own houses, the TCP Act does not allow building house on 50sqm land. The Act is made for the development of Himachal but Himachal cannot be compared with plain states. If anybody wants to make homestay or guesthouse in a village, TCP is
In a public hearing organized by town and country planning (TCP) sub-committee in Manali to know the public views, all the people opposed TCP rules being enforced in the village areas as the Act was not practical in congested villages with limited land. The Himachal government will organize public hearings in different parts of the
Kullu-Manali attracts over 35 lakh domestic and foreigner tourists annually and not all are fascinated by the mountains, glaciers and rivers of the valley – some of them visit the Himalayan valley in search of “Malana Cream”, the world’s best charas. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal once said: “When I was giving my introduction to a representative of Israeli senate in an international conclave, he left me stunned with words that he has listened about Kasol in India where high class marijuana is available. He shared his thought that a large number of people in Israel after completing mandatory military services rush to Kasol in Kullu to relieve themselves by puffing marijuana.” Over 98% of the tourists visit the valley to enjoy nature and adventure sports. Still, some tourists are reported to have visited the valley only for charas. Such tourists prefer staying in remote villages for a long time period. Police, who don’t want to put a negative impact on tourism, frequently lay nakas in such areas to search for the vehicles and pedestrians. As many as 161 foreigners have been booked under NDPS Act in last 15 years. The number of domestic tourists is even more. This doesn’t mean that all tourists visit Kullu-Manali for charas. Majority of tourists, both Indian and Foreigners, do not know that charas is produced in Kullu and is available here. Some people here say though charas put negative impact on youth but it is helping in rise in tourist footfall. A large number of local residents and politicians have been demanding to legalize cannabis cultivation, but fearing its misuse to make charas has forced lawmakers to make strict rules under NDPS Act. High on charas, foreigners bring notoriety to land of gods What attracts lakhs of backpackers from abroad to Kullu valley every year?
Kullu-Manali attracts over 35 lakh domestic and foreigner tourists annually and not all are fascinated by the mountains, glaciers and rivers of the valley – some of them visit the Himalayan valley in search of “Malana Cream”, the world’s best charas. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal once said: “When I was giving my introduction
वन, परिवहन, युवा सेवाएं व खेल मंत्री गोविंद सिंह ठाकुर ने कहा कि रोहतांग दर्रा कुल्लू तथा लाहौल-स्पिति जिलों का ताज है और इसके वैभव को बनाए रखना अति आवश्यक है। उन्होंने कहा कि रोहतांग पर वर्ष में लगभग आठ महीनों तक बर्फ की एक बड़ी परत उपलब्ध रहती है, जो साहसिक गतिविधियों के लिए एक बेहतर माहौल प्रदान करती है। उन्होंने कहा कि हर वर्ष रोहतांग के दीदार को लाखों देशी व विदेशी सैलानी आते हैं जिससे यहां के पर्यटन को बढ़ावा मिलता है। गोविंद ठाकुर ने कहा कि यद्यपि प्रकृति ने रोहतांग को नैसर्गिक सौंदर्य से नवाजा है, लेकिन राज्य सरकार सैलानियों के लिए अतिरिक्त सुविधाओं के सृजन पर बल दे रही है। उन्होंने कहा कि रोहतांग दर्रे के आस-पास स्कीइंग, पैराग्लाईडिंग, स्नो स्कूटर आदि अनेक साहसिक गतिविधियों की संभावना मौजूद है और इसका समुचित दोहन किया जाएगा। उन्होंने कहा कि इससे पर्यटन को और पंख लगेंगे जिससे युवाओं को रोजगार के अवसर प्राप्त होंगे। वन व परिवहन मंत्री ने शुक्रवार को जनजातीय जिला लाहौल-स्पिति के दो दिवसीय प्रवास के उपरांत कुल्लू वापसी के दौरान रोहतांग, मढ़ी, गुलाबा और कोठी का दौरा किया। उन्होंने इन स्थानों पर ढांचागत विकास, पर्यटन और साहसिक खेल गतिविधियों की संभावनाओं का जायजा लिया तथा अधिकारियों को आवश्यक दिशा-निर्देश जारी किए। गोविंद सिंह ने कहा कि रोहतांग और इसके आस-पास के पर्यटक स्थलों के सौंदर्यीकरण तथा एनजीटी के निर्देशों की अनुपालना सुनिश्चित करने के लिए वन विभाग के माध्यम से विशेष कदम उठाए जा रहे हैं। गुलाबा में लगभग 45 लाख की लागत से नेचर पार्क विकसित किया जा रहा है। इसमें विभिन्न प्रजातियों के पेड़ लगाने के साथ-साथ पर्यटकों के लिए कई सुविधाएं मुहैया करवाई जाएंगी। यह पार्क कारगिल युद्ध के शहीदों को समर्पित किया जाएगा। नेचर पार्क सैलानियों तथा स्थानीय लोगों को अनेक सुविधाएं प्रदान करेगा। 12 हैक्टेयर में बनने वाले
वन, परिवहन, युवा सेवाएं व खेल मंत्री गोविंद सिंह ठाकुर ने कहा कि रोहतांग दर्रा कुल्लू तथा लाहौल-स्पिति जिलों का ताज है और इसके वैभव को बनाए रखना अति आवश्यक है। उन्होंने कहा कि रोहतांग पर वर्ष में लगभग आठ महीनों तक बर्फ की एक बड़ी परत उपलब्ध रहती है, जो साहसिक गतिविधियों के लिए
With end of June, the tourist footfall in Kullu-Manali has started to decrease as summer vacations in most schools have ended and monsoon has arrived in many parts of the country. The hoteliers say its safe to visit Kullu-Manali in monsoon season as the highway has mostly widened and this is the best time to visit as hotels are easily available at reasonable tariff. They said enough snow is available at Rohtang pass and taxis are easily available for a discounted fare. The peak summer tourist season in Himachal has come to an end. The tourist footfall has dropped by nearly 50 per cent in a week. The hotel occupancy which was nearly 100 per cent last week has plunged below 50 percent. The hotel occupancy is expected to drop to less than 25 per cent in a week as monsoon showers are likely to bring respite from the heat in plains. “We saw peak tourism season for less than 20 days in June when all hoteliers did good business. With beginning of July, tourists start avoiding hill stations. July and August are the leanest business months,” a hotelier Ramesh Thakur said. Most hotels are giving huge discounts on room tariff to attract more tourists in off-season. The parking and traffic jam problem has finished here. The taxi rent too has suddenly dropped as cabbies are not getting passengers easily. Most of the hoteliers say this was the worst summer season for them as they did not see 100 per cent occupancy in June which is rare for them. They blamed long traffic jams, inadequate parking, unavailability of permit for vehicle to go to Rohtang pass and extremely high taxi fare for this. Most tourists had bad experience as they had to spend all nights in long traffic jams between
With end of June, the tourist footfall in Kullu-Manali has started to decrease as summer vacations in most schools have ended and monsoon has arrived in many parts of the country. The hoteliers say its safe to visit Kullu-Manali in monsoon season as the highway has mostly widened and this is the best time to
After witnessing a sudden surge in tourist footfall that left both hotels and roads choked in Manali last week, the hoteliers on Thursday said hotel occupancy has dropped to 60-70 per cent while traffic congestion too has finished in the tourist town. The long-weekend last week took toll on the infrastructure of Manali. As the maddening crowd and multiple traffic jams for hours that irked tourists have ended, the hoteliers said they are inviting tourists to Manali to enjoy cold and calm environment. The taxi fares too have come down to half of what was being charged until few days back. They said if tourists want to see the miracle of nature in the form of snowfall in mid-June, this is the right time to visit Manali. Manali Hoteliers’ Association president Anup Thakur said 30 to 40 per cent of the rooms in most hotels are empty. “We confess that tourists had to face some problems like traffic jams, non-availability of rooms, high taxi fare and room tariff. We assure tourists that things have improved now. The problem of traffic jams has almost gone due to better traffic management and spreading of tourist vehicles to other tourists attractions of the district like Hamta, Jana, Naggar and Manikaran,” he said. He added that rooms are easily available in hotels at reasonable price and buses from Delhi and Chandigarh are reaching Manali on time. “As many tourists are visiting Lahaul and Rohtang together, taxis for Rohtang pass are easily available. The taxi operators of Manali are charging fair price. The traffic at some points is moving very slow due to road construction works but we have got rid of hour-long jams starting from Kullu,” he added. Hoteliers said the availability of high mountains of snow at Rohtang pass has ensured prolonged tourism
After witnessing a sudden surge in tourist footfall that left both hotels and roads choked in Manali last week, the hoteliers on Thursday said hotel occupancy has dropped to 60-70 per cent while traffic congestion too has finished in the tourist town. The long-weekend last week took toll on the infrastructure of Manali. As the
माॅनसून पूर्व तैयारियों को लेकर जिला स्तरीय बैठक आयोजित जिले के किसी भी भाग में किसी भी प्रकार की आपदा से निपटने के लिए सभी विभागों को उपयुक्त तालमेल के साथ एक टीम की तरह कार्य करना चाहिए। आपदा के दौरान क्षति को कम करने तथा राहत व बचाव कार्यों में प्रत्येक विभाग और व्यक्ति का योगदान आवश्यक है। यह बात उपायुक्त ऋचा वर्मा ने आज यहां आयोजित माॅनसून पूर्व तैयारियों को लेकर जिला स्तरीय बैठक की अध्यक्षता करते हुए कही। उन्होंने कहा कि कुल्लू जिला अनेक प्रकार की आपदाओं की दृष्टि से संवेदनशील है और पहले से ही सभी विभागों को आवश्यक ऐहतियाती प्रबंध कर लेने चाहिए। ऋचा वर्मा ने कहा कि बहुत सारे ऐसे उपाय हैं जो अनेक आपदाओं को आने से रोक सकते हैं। इन छोटे-छोटे उपायों और आपदा प्रबंधन पर संबंधित विभागों को गहन अध्ययन की आवश्यकता है। उन्होंने कहा कि माॅनसून के दौरान ल्हासे गिरना अथवा भूःस्खलन जैसी समस्याएं अधिक रहती हैं। लोक निर्माण विभाग तथा राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग प्राधिकरण को सड़कों के आस-पास नालियों व पानी निकासी की समुचित व्यवस्था करनी चाहिए। उन्होंने संबंधित विभागों को आपदा की दृष्टि से जिले के संवेदनशील स्थलों को चिन्हित करके इसकी रिपोर्ट सौंपने को कहा। निर्बाध स्वच्छ पेयजल आपूर्ति सुनिश्चित करें आईपीएच उपायुक्त ने सिंचाई एवं जनस्वास्थ्य विभाग को जिले में गर्मियों के दौरान सभी भागों में स्वच्छ व निर्बाध जलापूर्ति सुनिश्चित बनाने को कहा। उन्होंने कहा कि पानी की कमी वाले क्षेत्रों में हैण्ड पंपों को तुरंत क्रियाशील बनाया जाए, ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में स्थानीय लोगों के सहयोग से पारम्परिक जल-स्त्रोतों बावड़ियों इत्यादि की सफाई करवाने की व्यवस्था की जाए। हालांकि अधीक्षण अभियंता ने बैठक में अवगत करवाया कि जिला में सभी पेयजल योजनाएं कार्य कर रही हैं और कहीं पर भी पानी की कमी नहीं है। अभी तक टैंकरों से पानी उपलब्ध करवाने की भी आवश्यकता नहीं पड़ी
माॅनसून पूर्व तैयारियों को लेकर जिला स्तरीय बैठक आयोजित जिले के किसी भी भाग में किसी भी प्रकार की आपदा से निपटने के लिए सभी विभागों को उपयुक्त तालमेल के साथ एक टीम की तरह कार्य करना चाहिए। आपदा के दौरान क्षति को कम करने तथा राहत व बचाव कार्यों में प्रत्येक विभाग और व्यक्ति
