Shimla hoteliers accuse NHAI of for poor road work resulting in tourism loss

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Members of the Shimla Hotels and Tourism Stakeholders’ Association claim that carelessness in the building and upkeep of roads has resulted in annual financial losses for them.

Tribune News Service quoted Association president Mohinder Seth as saying, “The tourism in Shimla has come to a grinding halt due to the NHAI’s negligence and ill-planned construction of highways. Due to the closure of national highway and the suspension of the Kalka-Shimla train service, there is hardly any occupancy in hotels.”

“The NHAI did not follow the norms for the construction of roads. Haphazard cutting of hills has led to the present mess. Had norms been adhered to, the tourism sector won’t have to suffer losses today,” Seth said.

In addition to hotel owners, other businesses that are directly or indirectly dependent on tourism, such as travel agencies, restaurants, taxi drivers, tour guides, photographers, horse owners, amusement parks, ropeways, and water sports facilities, have also suffered.

“The hotel industry, which provides employment to thousands of people, is finding it hard to pay salaries to the staff when there is zero occupancy in hotels for the past over one month. Hoteliers are finding it difficult to bear even regular expenses, including electricity, water and garbage collection charges etc. as the occupancy in hotels has come down to around 2 per cent. During this part of the year (July-August), the hotel occupancy often remains 40-50 per cent,” Seth added.

NHAI Project Director Anand Dahiya said, “The NHAI follows all norms while constructing roads. The road connectivity got affected only three days ago. Due to the recent natural calamity, tourists have been avoiding visiting hill stations in view of the apparent risk involved. Roads are being restored on a war footing. In fact, the fear of nature’s fury is keeping the tourists away.”

Association vice-president Neeraj Gupta said, “Tourism stakeholders are under financial stress. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, bank loans were restructured for two years and additional loans were provided under the emergency credit line scheme. Now, the EMI, along with interest of two years, has become due for payment.”

The association has requested that HPSEBL waive monthly fixed charges for six months, defer loan EMIs until May 2024 without affecting credit scores, and provide soft loans in the form of emergency credit lines. They have also demanded that water and electricity bills be paid six months later without incurring additional fees.

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