News Analysis India

Tag: Uttarakhand covid

  • Uttarakhand tourism industry seeks relief package to tide over COVID-19 crisis

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: The coronavirus battered tourism industry of Uttarakhand is pinning its hope on a relief package for hoteliers, owners of roadside eateries, tour and travel operators and people connected with adventure tourism who are facing a livelihood crisis.

    It is estimated that the tourism industry of the state has suffered losses worth Rs 1600 crore in 2020 due to the pandemic. “We have submitted a proposal to the chief minister seeking a relief package to inject life into our embattled tourism industry,” Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj said on Friday

    “Tourism is our bread and butter and it has suffered at multiple levels due to the pandemic. A relief package at this stage will do a world of good to people in the sector,” Maharaj told PTI in an interview. Citing the findings of a study conducted by IIM, Kashipur, the minister said Covid caused losses worth Rs 1600 crore to the tourism industry of Uttarakhand in 2020 besides rendering around 23000 people jobless.

    He said that the losses caused by the second wave of corona this year have not been estimated yet.

    The relief package has been sought for hoteliers, owners of roadside eateries, tour and travel operators and people connected with adventure tourism like rafting and trekking who are facing a livelihood crisis with no tourists arriving due to the pandemic.

    “While Kumbh had to be scaled down for people’s safety due to a raging second wave, the Chardham yatra has been hit hard by the COVID induced restrictions for the second consecutive year. It has been a big blow to the tourism industry,” the minister said.

    Hotels in tourist hubs like Nainital and Mussoorie have suffered bulk cancellation of bookings in recent months due to the second wave of the pandemic which had shown signs of abating in February-March. Tour and travel operators have also suffered with no tourists around.

    Covid curfew has been in force in Uttarakhand for several weeks now and vehicle operators are almost off the roads, he said.

    “A relief package for the tourism industry at this hour will give it the much needed shot in the arm,” Maharaj said adding that the chief minister has also been asked to include folk artistes as beneficiaries of the relief package as they do not get a chance to perform and earn with no cultural programmes being held by the tourism and culture department for more than a year.

    Maharaj said he has also requested the chief minister to go for a phased opening of the Chardham Yatra after the Covid curfew is lifted in the state. Although the famous Himalayan temples of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are open for daily prayers, they have been kept out of bounds for pilgrims in view of COVID.

    Pilgrimage to the Himalayan temples faced similar hurdles last year and opened finally with mandatory restrictions like a negative RT-PCR test report which limited the footfall of devotees to around 3.5 lakh only during the entire yatra season.

    However, the minister said the tourism scenario though bleak should not lead to despair. “COVID is a global crisis. Many tourist hubs in the world have battled it and overcome the challenges. We should draw inspiration from them and look forward with hope,” he said citing the instance of Dubai where the tourism industry is already showing signs of recovery.

  • Lowest weekly cases, positivity rate: Second COVID wave shows signs of slowdown in Uttarakhand

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: An analysis of the COVID-19 data in Uttarakhand between May 23 and 29 has indicated that the second wave may be slowing down. The hilly state this week registered a total of 16,643 infections, the lowest weekly cases in the previous six weeks, data analysed by Social Development for Communities Foundation has found.

    This is one-third of the cases recorded in the two weeks preceding it, it said. 

    At 6.44 per cent, the state also recorded the lowest test positivity rate (TPR) in the last six weeks, which is also one-fourth of the test positivity rate recorded during the second wave peak between May 9 and 22, the analysis stated. 

    It also found that the total active cases were at the lowest in the last six weeks at 31,110.

    Besides, the 626 COVID-related fatalities recorded between May 23 and 29 was also the lowest in the last five weeks. Uttarakhand also conducted 2,58,601 tests, the highest in the last four weeks and over 40,000 recoveries for the second straight week, the data analysis said.

    Experts said it would be “immature” to fritter away these hard-earned gains by lowering the guard and not abiding by Covid-appropriate behaviour.  “We appeal to the government of Uttarakhand, all authorities and the people of our state to continue to focus on the basics. We might be on the right track but there are many challenges that lie ahead,” Anoop Nautiyal of SDCF said. 

    The foundation has been collating and analysing data since March 15 last year, when the first Covid case in the state had surfaced. Currently, Uttarakhand has a total of 30,357 active cases with 1,226 new cases recorded on Sunday, the lowest single-day infections in the last 50 days.

  • Mahakumbh impact? Uttarakhand active Covid caseload jumped 1,800% in 25 days

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: An explosive 1,800% spike in active cases in Uttarakhand between March 31 and April 24, a period coinciding with the Haridwar Mahakumbh, indicates that the congregation may have turned into a super spreader event in the state.

    Prior to the event, the total number of active cases in the hill state stood at 1,863 (March 31). However, after the event started on April 1, the number of active cases reached a whopping 33,330 (April 24). According to the government data, over 35 lakh people had gathered at Haridwar on April 12 and the figure was pegged at over 13.51 lakh on April 14. Both the days were considered as auspicious for rituals.Government spokesman and minister Subodh Uniyal said complacency and arrival of tourists were to be blamed for the surge. “We are doing everything to ensure that this is over soon,” he added.

    The last Shahi Snan of Kumbh is scheduled for Tuesday. Responding queries on the event, Mahant Ravindra Puri, secretary of Niranjani Akhada – the second most prominent akhada among the 14 — said: “We have already informed that the Shahi Snan would be symbolic.”With Char Dham Yatra scheduled for next month, the HC has ordered the state to ensure it does not turn into another Kumbh. It has ordered the government to formulate guidelines for the yatra.

    Ravinath Raman, chairman of Char Dham Devsthanam Board and commissioner of Garhwal division said, “The guidelines will be issued soon with every possible precaution so that the spread is not amplified. Our SOP will be on the lines of the safety measures of the Centre and state government and what we issued last year with added precautions.”