Heavy rain, flood give another jolt to Himachal tourism business recovering from Covid-19

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 14 (ANI): The heavy rainfall and floods have given another jolt to the tourism business in Himachal Pradesh which was recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A hotelier spoke to ANI on how the rainfall adversely affect the tourism business.
“There is 100pc loss to the tourism business. I run hotels in Shimla, Kasauli, and Manali. In most places, there is no road connectivity due to floods and rain. Those tourists are in a state of fear. This is another jolt to our tourism business after Covid”, said hotelier Rajinder Singh Thakur.

Thakur added, “We were just trying to revive the tourism business and this rain and flood has hit us. The tourists have canceled the advance bookings which they had done for the next three months in the state. We don’t have even a single hotel room occupied these days.”

Notably, owing to torrential rainfall in the state, 91 people have lost their lives from June 24 to July 13, according to an official statement.

Furthermore, a tourist from Maharashtra told ANI that he felt fortunate after the Shrikhand Mahadev yatra was halted.

“We had gone on the pilgrimage to Shrikhand Mahadev and we were lucky to be there as the yatra was halted right after we arrived. Some people were stranded and some of them also died. It was heavily raining, roads were washed away and the administration was undertaking every measure to rescue people”, says Tushar, a tourist from Maharashtra.

In addition to this, another tourist from Pune expressed his happiness over returning home.

“It was a bit scary. We were stuck in Lahaul-Spiti for four days, for the future I would recommend everyone to come up with a plan only after following a weather forecast or should not come in the rainy season. We are feeling happy as we will be going home. I would also tell everyone in such a situation to just only try to move out safely and leave everything as life is precious”, said Kartik, a tourist from Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party President JP Nadda and Union Minister Anurag Thakur, on Friday, visited the flood affected areas in the Mandi district and assured people of relief and rehabilitation.

“13 teams of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and teams of SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) are also deployed in the area. MI-17 helicopter has been deployed for the rescue work. The Central Government will do whatever is necessary for relief and rehabilitation”, said Nadda.

In addition, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected areas in Kinnaur district.

CM Sukhu also visited the Kinnaur district and met those affected by the flood in the region.

Additionally, the Chief Minister visited the flood-hit Thunag sub-division in Seraj constituency of district Mandi and took stock of situation in Thunag market which is majorly affected by flood.

He also announced to provide land for the construction of the house which was swept away  and directed to clear the debris from the market at the earliest.

CM Sukhu also interacted with the locals and assured them of every possible assistance by the government.

According to an official update, a total of 492 animals have lost their lives. A total of 51 landslides have been reported so far since the beginning of monsoon and 32 incidents of flash floods have been reported.

The incessant rain has led to flash floods and landslides, causing significant damage in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali.