EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 14: All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association (AJHLA) has expressed great concern over ignoring of the tourism sector from the purview of any relief package announced by the government of India. Addressing a meeting of the office bearers of AJHLA held through video conferencing, the chairman, Inderjeet Khajuria and president Pawan Gupta, said that tourism sector is completely shocked and dismayed after listening the union minister of finance patiently for continuously five days but got no relief package/respite from the government. Tourism sector was expecting immediate as well as long term relief packages as it is only sector whose condition deteriorated from bad to worse by COVID pandemic coupled with ongoing lockdown. Hotel industry was already on ventilator due to extension of train service from Jammu to Katra and since August 2019 when the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state was bifurcated into two union territories with the abrogation of article 370.
Gupta further added that hotel industry hails the support given to various sectors such as MSME, farming, real estate, labour etc but expresses its strong resentment for showing step motherly treatment to tourism sector.
It appears that government is not at all bothered about the plight of stakeholders of tourism sector who have repeatedly pleaded for immediate relief in shape of financial assistance to hoteliers and staff, waiving off electricity, water, internet, municipal charges etc., exemption of interest on loans as a short term measure and give soft loans to hotel industry for its survival as a long term measure, he said. A day is not far off for hotel industry to meet its doom's day if not supported by the government and it has started showing signs of crumbling because of losses already suffered due to lockdown induced by corona pandemic and there is no hope of its sustenance in the near future, he added. The association once again appealed the government to come to their rescue by giving instant relief to starving hotel industry on the same pattern as given in the year 2003 during the regime of Prime minister, late Atal Behari Vajpayee. |
