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| Leh cloudburst forces guides to run for safety | | | Nagender Jamwal
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Nov 6: Cloudburst which hit Leh on August 5 has resulted in guides leaving the area to safer places.
As visitor’s number has reduced, Cloudburst has developed sense of fear among tourists, as per the guides over there. This has caused a severe setback not only to the economy of the area but also to the tourist guides who earned their bread and butter out of this trade.
Nepalese who constitute about 40 percent of guides operating there have left towards North-East and their homeland in search of job. Earlier hustle and bustle on the main streets of the town with antique and carpet shops cyber cafes and restaurants has been lost due to the natural calamity as tourists were now shying away from here.
Foreign national who used to come to Ladakh for trekking as the area is known for its world class peaks, are now not to be seen there as about 200 lives have been lost due to the flash floods and many more were still missing.
According to official records about 35,000 foreign and 40,000 domestic tourists visited Ladakh in the year 2009. Their main destinations were the monasteries that dot the entire area and took keen interest in adventure sports.
Vijay Lama, who belongs to Nepal and is working as a driver with a private guest house in Leh, said, “The Nepali guides are worried of their future. After the floods, the tourists are shying from coming to Ladakh for trekking and other adventure sports. Nepali guides were living in Ladakh only by earning through tourism and now have nothing to do here” said Lama.
Nepali guides used to become familiar with the trek routes after working for some time with the locals and thereafter operated independently as there was lot of scope because several foreign tourists would hire them for trek.
Not only the Nepali guides but the worst hit was the local guides some of whom have lost their homes in floods and their job too.
Stanzen Angmo, 26, a local cultural guide who used to take tourist to various monasteries, lost his home in floods that hit Chuglamsar. He was camping in a relief camp set up for the victims of floods of Chuglamsar in the Solar Colony.
There are about 20 monasteries including Hemis, Thiksey, Shey and Lama Yuru, where Angmo used to take the foreign tourists. He would earn about Rs 700 every day but is now living in a relief camp with no work. There were around 800 guides in Ladakh who had lost their jobs after the floods hit Ladakh.
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