Tourism is hurt due to dispute over mosques, hotel bookings in Shimla are badly affected

The growing controversy over the alleged unauthorized construction of mosques in Himachal Pradesh has affected tourism. According to hoteliers, the hotel business has been affected by this. Know what the figures say…

Krishna Bihari Singh Bhasha, ShimlaWed, 18 Sep 2024 06:57 PM Share

The communal tension arising out of the protests over the alleged unauthorized construction of mosques in Himachal Pradesh has affected tourism. According to hoteliers, the tension arising over mosques has affected the influx of tourists in Shimla. Even though these protests have been peaceful, tourism has been affected by this.

MK Seth, President of Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders Association said, “Tourists look for peaceful places to visit. Normally 40 to 50 percent of hotels are filled in the month of September, but this year due to the current environment, hotel bookings have been affected. Hotel bookings have come down to 10 to 20 percent. If the situation worsens, the situation may get worse.

MK Seth said- The tourism industry has collapsed after the Covid pandemic. Last year, tourism was hurt by monsoon rains and the hotel business was affected. Now this year the tourism sector is suffering due to communal tension.

It is noteworthy that on August 30, a dispute that started with a scuffle between a barber from the minority community and another local businessman in Malayana area of ​​Shimla turned into a communal issue. After this, Hindu groups mobilized and demanded the demolition of unauthorized mosques. Now the situation is such that the local people are asking for identification and verification of outsiders coming to Himachal.

According to a PTI Bhasha report, a day earlier, residents of Kasumpti in Shimla demanded the demolition of another mosque in their area. The locals claimed that the mosque was unauthorized. A delegation of locals met Shimla Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap, Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi and Shimla Municipal Commissioner Bhupendra Atri and submitted a memorandum regarding their demands. Last week on Wednesday, 10 people were injured in a clash between protesters and police in Sanjauli area of ​​​​Shimla demanding the demolition of a part of the mosque.