With the Himachal government imposing night curfew in four districts of the state from Tuesday to contain spread of Covid-19, the hoteliers said the decision will destroy tourism completely which was slowly coming back on track after the lockdown. Four districts of Himachal -- Kullu, Shimla, Kangra and Mandi – will observe a complete curfew from Tuesday to December 15. No vehicle other than those engaged in emergency and essential supplies will be allowed on roads between 8pm and 6am. Hoteliers said the tourism was coming back on track after a long time but this curfew will create panic among visitors who have planned to visit the state. Manali and some other tourist destinations of Himachal are reachable from Delhi after a travel time of over 14 hours. In such a condition, 10 hours’ night curfew will stop them from reaching their destination. Hoteliers said the government should give relaxation to the tourists otherwise it will be a nightmare for those who are already in transit and those who have already booked their flights and other conveyance that will not match the curfew timing. They said snowfall was attracting tourists to the state but curfew in the main tourism districts of Himachal will adversely affect tourism. A hotelier Anil Sharma said, “Be it towns or villages, Himachal wears deserted look in the nighttime in winter months when people mostly remain indoors. The government should impose a ban on functions to avoid public gatherings which is the main reason for the spike in Covid-19 cases in Himachal." "There should be some strict restrictions on marriages and other parties. We will welcome the decision to fine tourists heavily for disobeying protocols to contain Covid-19 but night curfew is not the solution but it will harm the tourism which has already suffered huge
With the Himachal government imposing night curfew in four districts of the state from Tuesday to contain spread of Covid-19, the hoteliers said the decision will destroy tourism completely which was slowly coming back on track after the lockdown. Four districts of Himachal — Kullu, Shimla, Kangra and Mandi – will observe a complete curfew
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
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
As the general elections have ended, tourists who gave a miss to hill stations in May have started to make a beeline to Manali to get respite from the scorching heat of the plains. The elections have badly hit the summer tourism of Himachal as hoteliers claim they have never seen such a poor business in May month. With elections ended and hills of Manali still experiencing fresh snowfall, hoteliers believe they see a good tourist crowd till the end of June. The tourist footfall is increasing gradually but most of the tourists are ending up stuck in traffic jams for hours. The charm of snow along Manali-Rohtang road is attracting tourists to Manali. A number of tourist vehicles entering Manali is increasing every day. But the long traffic jams at multiple places between Bhuntar and Marhi are ruining their holiday mood. While a one-way bridge at Dobhi has become the worst bottleneck, NHAI has failed to stop sliding of a small stretch at 16 Mile where sometimes vehicles are forced to wait for 1 to 2 hours for their turn. The traffic is moving at snail’s pace on Bhuntar-Ramshila stretch of the highway where road construction is continuing. It has become a routine to face traffic jams from Manali to Marhi, the snow point of Manali. The hoteliers say May and June are the months when lakhs of tourists throng Manali and most hotels remain occupied. They rue that not just elections but it is poor infrastructure that is irking the tourists and putting a negative impact on the tourism industry. Manali Hoteliers’ Association president Anup Ram Thakur said the condition of the road from Kiratpur (Punjab) to Manali is not good which is affecting the tourism. “Unscientific construction of four-lane highway without conducting proper study of the area
As the general elections have ended, tourists who gave a miss to hill stations in May have started to make a beeline to Manali to get respite from the scorching heat of the plains. The elections have badly hit the summer tourism of Himachal as hoteliers claim they have never seen such a poor business
