Blow to Jammu tourism

As flood water is gradually receding in Srinagar and scores of dewatering pumps are at work, the impact of flash floods and incessant rains on various aspects of economic life is also coming to light. The impact is dimensional and losses are in a number of areas that shall have to be taken into account. Although it is the Kashmir Valley which suffered immensely and large scale rescue and relief operation has been conducted in the Valley, yet the impact of break down of normal life and disruption of trade and commerce on Jammu is in no way small. These losses shall have to be listed under various heads. What we like to focus upon now is the Department of Tourism.
Jammu city is become a city of pilgrim tourists besides the traditional starting point for Kashmir tourism. More than a crore of pilgrims would come to pay obeisance at the holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi. Most of them coming from far off places in the country disembark at Jammu and like to spend a night or two either on their way to the shrine or on return. This huge influx of pilgrim tourists gave tremendous boost to hotel industry in the city. According to official records there are more than one thousand hotels in Jammu city and the town of Katra. After the flash floods, while Kashmir Valley remained cut off and is still partly cut off, the number of pilgrim tourists to the holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi has dwindled considerably and come down to one fourth of what it normally used to be. This has dealt a severe blow to hotel industry of Jammu as these hotels have no visitors and their hotel business is now on the verge of collapse.
In addition to the plight of hotel owners, the taxi transporters are also suffering immense impact of total closure of the Valley to the tourists. According to our information, five thousand taxi drivers are adversely affected and some of them who were contacted were seriously thinking of changing their trade and profession. Many of the taxi owners have taken loans from banks and it is now about three weeks that they have been sitting idle. They are not able to win two square meals for their families, what to speak of paying the monthly instalment of loans.
The case of these two categories of professionals connected with the situation in the Valley is one which should be taken up for consideration. They need financial support to resume their small enterprises and those who have taken bank loans as small scale entrepreneurs should be facilitated by either waiving their loans or putting moratorium on repayment so that they get the breathing time. It has to be understood that vast number of people are directly or indirectly connected with tourist industry all of whom have received serious blow to their daily wages. Thousands of shop keepers also connected with tourist industry like curio vendors, tea stalls and restaurant owners, dry fruit sellers, trekkers and mountaineers; in short thousands of people associated with tourism have been badly affected.
Apart from losses accruing to Jammu tourism, reports of more damages to infrastructure in parts of Jammu region like Poonch and Rajouri have also begun to come in. Office of Tourism Department in Pooch has been completely washed off. In an overall estimate made so far the Tourism Department in Jammu has suffered losses to the tune of 120 crore rupees. But a complete picture of losses is yet to come. Government needs to activate all concerned departments apart from Tourism Department to send their respective teams and assess the damages done to infrastructure and establishment. Only then can the Government formulate relief and reconstruction plan for them.

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