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Meltdown is upturn for Mussoorie
traders
... But for tourism dept, it’s thumbs down
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Dark days ahead
IG instructs prompt action on complaints
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Meltdown is upturn for Mussoorie
traders
Due to global recession, domestic tourists, who earlier travelled abroad during summers, are expected to economise and plan a holiday to hill stations like Mussoorie instead, say hoteliers Mussoorie, April 15 This has raised the hopes of local businessmen who are speculating that global recession may ultimately help the this hill town attract more tourists during the summers. They fathom that following the meltdown, domestic tourists will cut down expenditure and chose vacations in destinations within the country rather than going abroad. The local businessmen are, therefore, looking forward to a profitable season. Ajay Bhargava, secretary of the Mussoorie Hotels Association (MHA), is elated with business over the weekend. “Due to the global recession, domestic tourists who would travel abroad during the summers are expected to economise and plan a holiday to hill stations like Mussoorie instead,” Bhagava said. Pranav Gilhotra, a prominent garment retailer, made a tidy sum this weekend. “We expect a heavy influx of tourists during the next couple of months,” he said with much enthusiasm. But a cautious Rajat Aggarwal, president of the Mussoorie Traders Association, is more circumspect. “I believe that tourist season will not pick up until the end of elections mid-May and, therefore, the numbers will be more or less equivalent to those in previous years,” he argues. Sandeep Sawhney, public relations officer of the MHA, said apart from the fact that Mussoorie was an accessible destination, the relatively low cost of holidays here would be a big plus point. “Mussoorie is well-connected by rail, road and air and is located close to New Delhi. It is expected to do well this year. People will be attracted to the town due to the low cost of holidays as compared to any destination abroad,” Sawhney said. “The heavy appreciation in the exchange rate is bound to act as a deterrent to nationals thinking of travelling abroad and we hope that this will mean more tourists will opt for Mussoorie this year.” While this is good news for businessmen, an increase in the number of tourists is bound to impose additional burden on the local administration. The question is whether it will be able to effectively cater to the tourists. There is a general impression that the local administration reacted poorly to the tourist influx last week. Residents complained about water shortages, frequent power breakdowns, traffic congestion and illegal parking on The Mall. “It was total chaos with the locals complaining of shortage of drinking water while hoteliers had to get water tankers to meet the demand of their clients. There were numerous power breakdowns, vehicles were parked illegally on The Mall and even horses were allowed therell (horse-riding in prohibited on The Mall),” recalled Rajat Aggarwal. Questions are being raised on the ability of the administration to cope with the increased tourist traffic. Meanwhile, OP Uniyal, chairman of the Nagar Palika, seemed quite unnerved by such criticism. Uniyal assured said the Nagar Palika was making all efforts to provide necessary facilities and prevent inconvenience to tourists as well as the locals this summer. He said since the police had been deployed elsewhere due to the Lok Sabha elections, the Nagar Palika did not have the requisite number of police personnel at its disposal. “However, the police authorities have told us that post- elections, we will have a greater number of policemen to regulate traffic and in the meantime the Nagar Palika is hiring private security personnel who will check illegal parking at The Mall,” Uniyal said. Construction work at The Mall is in full swing and a new parking lot is expected to be completed there by the end of May. Uniyal was hopeful that the new parking would reduce some pressure on the road. He said they would be hiring a crane in order to tow away vehicles parked at unauthorised places.The chairman also assured the authorities would strictly prevent the sale of edibles by unauthorised roadside stalls.
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... But for tourism dept, it’s thumbs down
Mussoorie, April 15 Hoteliers in particular have come down heavily on the department and feel that Mussoorie can have a year- round tourist traffic, but for the neglect by the tourism department The department, it is felt, has failed to beckon more tourists, both domestic and foreign, to the town. It has not advertised the town’s holiday potential on the media and also at various tourism fairs and festivals. It is being said the department has a narrow focus in promoting religious tourism (Char Dham Yatra) alone. Sandeep Sawhney, public relations officer, Mussoorie Hotels Associations, alleged the department had not promoted the Mussoorie tourist circuit at all since the past several years. Rajat Aggarwal, president, Mussoorie Traders Association, said: “Forget about advertisements, it is difficult even to obtain a brochure on Mussoorie at any tourism fair,” he said. Stake-holders in tourism speak of the tourism promotion efforts by Himachal Pradesh and point out that Shimla is aggressively advertised as a tourism destination but this cannot be said of Mussoorie. They speak of following the Himachal model to increase the inflow of tourists to Mussoorie and its vicinity. Justifying the demand for greater publicity, Sawhney said that on an average, the occupancy of hotels in Mussoorie was between 30-40 days a year. This was woefully low. “We need to promote Mussoorie more in order to utilise our capacity fully and, hence, increase our revenue and that of the state government,” said Sawhney. The Mussoorie circuit includes several places around Mussoorie like Lakhamandal, Dhanolti, New Tehri, Surkhanda Devi and the Assan barage.
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Tourist police personnel get lessons in hospitality
Dehradun, April 15 Before the start of the training, IG (Garhwal) MA Ganapathy addressed around 160 tourist police personnel and exhorted them to perform their duties diligently. — MA
Ganapathy IG (Garhwal)
He said new challenges demanded new solutions. Ganapathy said that this year, they have increased the number of the tourist police personnel from 80 to 160. He added that tourist police assistance booths have also been increased from 37 to 55 and at least two tourist police personnel will be deputed at every tourist police booth. Also, a first-aid kit will be kept at all tourist police booths.Last year, the concept of the tourist police proved successful following which the police department decided to increase the number of the tourist police personnel.“Both male and female police personnel have been inducted into the tourist police. “They have been trained by experts in language, communication skills and hospitality besides being told about the various tourist places in the state,” said Ganapathy. He added that tourist police personnel will be equipped with tourist literature adding that for the Char Dham yatra season, they will be deployed at around 55 places known to attract tourists particularly on the Char Dham yatra route. The IG asserted that the main objective of the tourist police is to assist pilgrims coming for the yatra and the tourists. He added that special booths will be set up at all routes leading to the Char Dham - Yamnotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath. Ganapathy also said that tourist police would be assisting domestic and foreign tourists and pilgrims on basic information pertaining to the tourism sector of Uttarakhand and about the geographical conditions of the state. “Plus, they will also give information about ravel fare so that nobody cheats them,” he added.
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Dark days ahead
The state generates 7 million units of power per day while the demand is as high as 22 to 23 million units per day. It gets four to five million units as share from the Centre while another 1 to 1.5 million units is borrowed from Delhi. Even after this, Uttarakhand faces a shortage of 4 to 5 million units per day and is forced to overdraw power from the Northern Grid. With little snowfall this winters and the melting of snow yet to start, power generation is not expected to go up in days to come. The scenario could turn alarming if the water level does not rise in the rivers. According to power corporation statistics, Uttarakhand has been on an average generating 10 to 11 million units of power per day, but the situation has turned pathetic this year with the water level in the rivers yet to rise. RP Thapliyal, MD, Uttarakhand Jal Vidhyut Nigam limited, said with snow yet to melt in the higher reaches, the water level had gone down in the rivers, leading to a decline in power generation. Yesterday, the Garhwal region faced one of the worst situations with tripping rendering the entire grid non-functional. The grid failure disrupted potable water supply to various parts in the state. It also affected power generation at Maneri Bhali Phase I and II. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand has started power cuts to make up for the rising demand. “Long power cuts affect potable water supply in a big way and we have almost no arrangements,” said BK Sethi, XEN, Jal Sansthan.
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IG instructs prompt action on complaints
Dehradun, April 15 In the meeting, the IG reviewed the action taken by cops in connection with various crimes, including betting, gambling, liquor smuggling etc. Ganapathy also asked the officials about the steps being taken to ensure the law and order in crime prone areas. Besides, the police officials briefed the IG about the search drives, checking of the vehicles and the regular patrolling. IG issued directions for taking prompt action on the complaints submitted by the city residents. At the end of the meeting, it was found that police officials are still not complying with the instructions issued to them regarding various matters pertaining to the crime. IG has warned the officials to improve their functioning failing which action would be initiated against the in charge of the police pickets and police stations.
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Due to global recession, domestic tourists, who earlier travelled abroad during summers, are expected to
economise and plan a holiday to hill stations like Mussoorie instead, say hoteliers.
Dehradun, April 15