Tourism beneficiaries demand better infra in Himachal Pradesh

Our Correspondent

Kullu, October 16

The beneficiaries of the tourism industry here alleged that various governments had failed to harness the potential of tourism, which is the backbone of the economy of the state.

They said that most of the tourist hotspots and activities had been created by the masses themselves and the only job the current government had done was to earn revenue from these and impose regulations. They further added that even basic amenities like toilets were not available in most of the tourist spots. The condition of the roads was pitiable and the rail connectivity was a far off dream, proposals for which were underway for the past many decades.

Budhi Prakash Thakur, an aviation expert, said that the Srinagar airport gets as many as 80 flights a day during the peak tourist season and further the seats are subsidised by the government. He said that because of the short runway of the Kullu-Manali airport, only one flight operates here and the fares are generally exorbitant. Thakur added that recently Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia announced that Srinagar’s current airport terminal will be expanded three times from 20,000 square meters to 60,000 square meters at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore.

He added that the government was spending Rs 3,000 crore for land acquisition for the construction of greenfield airport at Mandi, but no one was paying attention towards Kullu-Manali, an area which attracts more tourists than Kashmir.

Bhupender Thakur, Chief Patron, Kullu Travel Agents Association, (KTAA), said that Alliance Air should increase the frequency and carry out 2 to 3 shuttle services between Kullu and Delhi daily during the peak season time. He added that the Civil Aviation ministry should direct other major airlines to operate on the Delhi-Kullu-Delhi sector to increase competition and improve air connectivity.

Thakur stated that even though the existing infrastructure of the airport was good, it was underutilised as only one flight comes here daily. He said that small aircrafts were economically feasible here. He said that the government should regulate airfares to the hill state in accordance with the subsidies provided for the north-eastern states, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

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