Taxi operators suffer as tourist footfall declines
Ranjit Thakur
Jammu, November 29
Forty-year-old taxi operator Joti is among thousands of taxi operators in Jammu, who are struggling to make both ends meet due to a steep decline in the footfall of tourists in J&K post revocation of Article 370 on August 5.
“It is really difficult for us to make ends meet owing to no bookings of tourists. Though the government has revoked the advisory issued for tourists before the abrogation of Article 370, we are not receiving any positive response from tourists from other states. I have no idea how long we can survive in this situation,” said Joti.
“The government has claimed that normalcy has returned to the Kashmir valley, but the ground situation is entirely different as we have recorded nearly 85 per cent decline in tourist footfall in the past three months,” another taxi operator at the busy Residency Road said. “I have children studying in high schools, but for the past three months, I have not been able to bear their expenses. Earlier, we were earning a handsome income during the winter, but this time we are struggling for survival,” another taxi operator said.
“Tourists are only confined to Katra these days and they too are opting for trains,” said Inderjeet Sharma, president, Special Tourist Taxi Association.
“Before the abrogation of Article 370, the Valley was packed with tourists. All hotels, houseboats and huts were full and taxi operators were earning well,” said Sharma.
He said nearly 30 per cent booking had been affected this season due to Internet ban in Jammu and Kashmir. “The first enquiry tourists have is about the status of the Internet. Tourists from Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab and other states usually come to J&K during winter, but we have no bookings this year and Himachal Pradesh has become the favourite destination among tourists,” said Sharma.
Deepika Sharma, Director, Tourism, Jammu, said, “We are highlighting the tourist places of J&K by organising different events. It is true that in past few months there has been a decline in the footfall of tourists, but things will improve soon.”
