Haridwar-based hotelier Sanjay Verma has laid off nearly 20 per cent of his employees and asked a few others to go on leave for a month. Guest house owner Rajendra Keshwani was not able to do bohni (first trade on any given day) for three consecutive days. Since June, taxi owner Kuldeep has not got a single pilgrimage traveller for Char Dham Yatra . These are but a few instances of how the ‘water tsunami’ in Kedarnath and Uttarkashi in June affected trade and business in one of the oldest cities of India — Haridwar.

“After the mid-June disaster, there are neither Char Dham (Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamnotri) yatris nor weekend tourists from neighbouring States, especially Delhi. This has resulted in occupancy rates coming down to a mere 25 per cent from the normal 75-80 per cent during these months in previous years,” Sanjay Verma told Business Line . Verma owns two hotels in Haridwar.

The city has close to 400 hotels, guest houses and dharamshalas. It is estimated that a number of small hotels and guest houses have closed down, although there are no official figures yet. Those still in operation, have lowered their rates or are giving hefty discounts to sustain operations, Verma said. The situation forced Verma to not only lay off his staff but also ask a few employees to proceed on leave with half salary.

Similarly, Keshwani is operating his hotel with a skeleton staff. He has reduced the number of managers to one-third, while only one-sixth of total waiters are working in his two hotels and one guest house located on Har ki Paudi . On June 16, flash floods devastated the town of Kedarnath, killing thousands of people and destroying several villages. Hundreds are still missing. But Haridwar did not face nature’s fury, so why are things so bad?

Suresh Gulati, District President, Vyapar Mandal, blames the media to some extent. He says the repeat telecast of Lord Shiva’s statue at Uttarkashi being swept away, followed by images of Har Ki Paudi and hotels situated on the bank of Ganges had an adverse impact. “These images created a sense of fear in the minds of people outside Haridwar,” Gulati said. Local business is down by almost 70 per cent, he estimates.

The holy city receives a large number of tourists during Char Dham Yatra . Although the beginning of a journey depends upon the Panchang (a Hindu astrology book according to which days are finalised for festivals and yatras), it normally lasts for 45 days, spread over April to July. A pilgrim is supposed to complete the yatra in nine days.

This year, the yatra had started a bit late, but nature’s fury wreaked havoc. During the yatra, nearly 6,000 taxis leave Haridwar daily for the four dhams. Each taxi takes three trips a month. On an average, a taxi owner earns Rs 1 lakh or more during the period.

“This kind of earning helps us repay EMIs comfortably. But this year, after three trips in May-June, I have not made a single trip. Things have become difficult for me,” says taxi owner Kuldeep.

But, hope never dies. The locals in the holy city are now waiting for the Puja season to begin in October when Gujaratis and Bengalis visit the city for their annual holiday.

shishir.s@thehindu.co.in

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