Serenity, tranquility of Manali haunt tourists amid pandemic scare

Manali, Oct 6 The serenity and tranquility prevailing in this Himachal Pradesh's resort is haunting tourists ever since the Covid-19 outbreak in March, with the much-preferred tourist destination turning virtually into a ghost town, literally.

Estimates say no less than 1,500 hotels, lodges and home-stay accommodations in and around Manali are yet to pull up the shutters giving the town a tranquil, yet forlorn look.

"There is an eerie emptiness everywhere in Manali, be it the streets, the shops or the selfie points," remarked Abhishek Dubey, a tourist from New Delhi.

His wife Nikita added: "The local transportation for sight-seeing is mostly devoid of commuters and tourists. You can see only mountain goats roaming the quiet streets of Manali."

Members of the hospitality industry say 20-25 per cent hotels, mainly high-end and those who have taken the units on high lease, have opened their doors for the guests.

They say in their lifetimes they have never seen such a stillness of public spaces with the footfall of tourists almost abysmal and the bookings almost nil, impacting their livelihoods.

"The hotel industry is suffering catastrophic losses," Manali Hotelier Association President Anoop Thakur told .

He said from tour guides to adventure tour and travel operators, everyone who depends on visitor spending is feeling the pain.

Thakur, whose association has 650 plus members, blamed the state for adopting discriminatory standard operating procedures

( With inputs from IANS )

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