Dehradun / Haridwar: One day after the Uttarakhand government announced an aid package of Rs 29 billion for the tourism sector, industry officials said the amount provided was nowhere near enough to cover the losses incurred. Under the package, the government will provide 5,000 rupees for 50,000 people involved in tourism and 10,000 rupees each for registered tour and rafting guides and adventure tour operators.
“The financial aid granted is not even enough for a month. The government has to look for pragmatic solutions that will help us get back on our feet, ”said a tourism expert. According to industry estimates, tourism in Uttarakhand lost nearly 1500 billion rupees in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Rafting Association President Dinesh Bhatt told TOI: “The government has announced that it will waive the annual fee for rafting companies and give river guides some money, according to media reports, but that is not enough. We asked the government to cancel the fee for five years and change the policy to renew the license every year. The government does not take the rafting industry seriously, which is why many are now planning to leave the business. ”
Tour operators are now also not satisfied with the government’s decision. Tour operator Sumit Shree Kunj from Rishikesh said, “We have requested a tax break for at least two years, but the government is not taking our request seriously. We have suffered enormous economic losses due to the Covid pandemic and have no money to pay our workers salaries and to repay bank loans. ”
A fund of Rs 28.99 crore was approved by the Uttarakhand cabinet on Wednesday for those related to the tourism sector. Half a lakh related to the tourism industry would receive Rs 2,500 per month for a total of two months, making a total of Rs 5,000 per beneficiary.
A total of 352 registered tour operators would receive 10,000 rupees each via bank transfer and it would cost 35.20 lakh rupees to the state government. Similarly, 303 adventure tour operators would receive funding of Rs 10,000 each. For people who had taken out loans for host families under Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Yojna, the state government waived interest from April 1 to September 30, 2021.
An amount of Rs 10,000 each would be given to 631 registered rafting guides in the state. The Cabinet has also decided to waive the annual registration fee for rafting, aerosports and other people in the industry. Agriculture minister and government spokesman Subodh Uniyal said: “The cabinet has decided to help all those people connected to the tourism industry who have suffered losses this year.”

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