Tourism, a vital engine of the economic growth of Jammu region, and an important source of earning for tens of thousands here, has sunk to zero as the coronavirus lockdown nosedived leisure and religious travel plans.
At tourism intensive destinations of the region- Patnitop, Katra, Mansar Lake, Bhaderwah, Basohli among others, where not just hotels, restaurants, shops, transport services, but even photographers, ponywalas, rehriwalas and many more are dependent on tourists, the pandemic has washed out the first half of the year, including a peak season, and is probably on way to do the same to the second half.
Ajit Singh, a boat owner at Mansar Lake for almost two decades, says, “We have never seen a situation this bad in our life. Our boats are parked along the edges of the lake for the last three months. They have been rusting.”
He owns a shop too, where one can sit, gulp snacks and locally famous foods. “Who would come to buy anything from our shops when the gates to the lake are shut for all kinds of visitors – tourists and pilgrims, from J&K or from other states?”
Ravi Sharma, another shopkeeper, mentions that if not for the pandemic, April-June was the time when people would have come here in huge numbers for mundan ceremonies of their kids, biradari congregations, havan and pooja rituals, besides for picnicking.
Sham, Manager, JKTDC hotel at Mansar, states, “Three months lockdown meant a loss of nearly 15 lakhs to JKTDC just from the rooms and restaurant at this place. We have a dine-in facility. To start take-away, there should be consumers. We have opened our rooms following permission for 50% occupancy, but no one has come here.”
“The month of ‘mahamaas’ is approaching and our hopes are tied to it to be able to earn something,” Ravi says.
Amit from Basohli points out, “The footfall, here, increased manifold after the commencement of boating recently. The boats are owned by a Dalhousie based agency, which started featuring Basohli in its tour-travel packages for the consumers. As such, people would halt and get clicked at Atal Setu built over the Ranjeet Sagar Lake, enjoy boating at Purthu ‘the mini Goa’, and offer prayers at Chanchlo Mata temple. The popularity can be gauged by their revenues, which would go higher than Rs 50 thousand per day. The locals were also benefitting from the tourist influx. However, with the imposition of lockdown, the boats are lying idle and tourism-dependent people are suffering.”
He adds, “The only way to enter Basohli at present is through Lakhanpur. Even the Atal Setu Bridge, which connects us to neighbouring states, is closed for the past three months. The Tourism Reception Centre (TRC) has been converted into a quarantine centre. We can only wait for the situation to normalize.”
Deepak, another Basohli resident remarks, “Mostly, people visit this place from May to August, while Chanchlo Mata Temple, the kuldevi of people from J&K, Punjab and Himachal, witnesses rush during Navratras. The ‘peak season’ is nearing its end, and Chaitra Navratras have been observed in lockdown. Also, a segment of visitors is for Basohli Paintings and Basohli Pashmina. Imagine the ordeal of those artists.”
Similarly, Mir Salman from Bhaderwah notes that the site, which used to have fully occupied hotels and huts during June-August, seems to be yearning for tourists this year.
“Tourists would visit Padri, Gulidanda, Jai Valley, Gatha fish pond, Nalthi Park, and Sarthal. Even the small hotels could earn Rs 50-60 thousand in a day during peak season. In the pandemic times, tourists are not allowed. Those from Jammu region, will probably be sent to quarantine. We can only see the locals of Bhaderwah roaming here,” Salman says.
Furthermore, Vivek Sharma of The White Hotels, Katra, and Secretary, Hotel Association Katra, says, “Everyone in Katra depends on Shri Mata Vaishno Devi’s yatra, for which pilgrims from across India come here. Not only this, but the entire tourism circuit of Jammu region depends on the yatra. With a prolonged lockdown and yatra not resuming, the economy has gone down severely.”
He asserts, “The average occupancy of our hotel remains 60%, which means a whopping Rs 1 crore loss per month during lockdown. Some hotels have laid off staff, and cut salaries to survive the losses. Recently, we have been allowed to open hotels with certain limitations on occupancy and staff, and preventive measures in place. While some have opened their hotels, it does not seem feasible to us until yatra resumes and we have guests to cater to. Jammu people won’t stay in hotels.”
Yasin, a ponywala from Katra mentions, “Pilgrims in lakhs from India, especially West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi-NCR come here. Some NRI pilgrims also come for darshan. Navratri, naye saal pe itna rush hota hai ki hotel mein kamra bhi nahi milta. Our survival depends solely on these pilgrims. Now, it has become hard for us to feed ourselves and our horses.”
Harcharan Singh of Crystal Hotel Patnitop, and President, Patnitop Hotel Association, opines that until inter-state travel is not allowed, tourism stakeholders will continue to suffer.
“Tourist footfall is everything to hotels, restaurants, bus-taxi drivers, travel agents, boat owners, ponywalas, and so on, be it a small or big stakeholder. In Patnitop, which is popular as a destination providing solace during the scorching heat of summers, the lockdown has caused a daily total loss of over Rs 20 lakh. Still, the government has not considered us for the relief packages,” he rues adding that the governments have always neglected Jammu’s tourism potential and stakeholders.
Vivek says, “We are trying to hold on, hoping that everything will be back on track gradually. Personally, I think tourism will be the last one to be able to recover since people are terrified and have lost their spending power, though spiritual places can still fare better.”
Also: Read my article at THE NEWS NOW
Lockdown Impact: Tourism sinks in Jammu
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