All taxi and tourist vehicles of Himachal Pradesh went on a day long strike on Friday to protest the National Green Tribunal order imposing heavy charges on Rohtang bound tourist vehicles. This led to problems for the tourists in all parts of the State in the peak season.
The taxi operators of Manali have been on an indefinite strike against the NGT order.
The strike has hit hard tourism and caused damage to the the tourism industry in the state. Tourists are facing hardships everywhere in Himachal Pradesh.
When the tourist season was at its peak in Manali, the NGT order came like a bolt from the blue. The place which used to wear a festive look is getting deserted as all tourists who had come to Manali for a week are going back with their bag and baggage with a heavy heart cursing the State Government and the NGT.
Manali is looking deserted in the wake of the NGT order. General secretary of Volvo Buses Association, Anand said with the heavy imposition of heavy environment charges imposed by the NGT, tourists started rushing back home and the Manali bound buses from Delhi came half empty.
Vice-President of Maharsshtra Tour Association Prabhu said that he had been bringing tourists to Manali for the last 30 years, but now the nightmarish experience due to the dictate of the NGT had deterred them from coming to Manali in future.
Dr Tejas, who had come from Kuchh in Gujarat and staying in Hotel Honeymoon Inn with his wife and children was very upset and bitter about the shabby manner in which the NGT has landed the tourists in trouble. Due to the indefinite strike of transport operators against NGT order he and his children had to trek a distance of 3 kms up to hotel and was going back by trekking the same distance to bus-stand on way home. “I have pledged not to come again to Manali or Himachal Pradesh in future,” he said in pensive and angry tone. He wondered how NGT was functioning in an arbitrary and dictatorial style striking at the very root of tourism industry, one of the mainstays of the economy of the hill state.
Ram Swarup Sharma, MP from Mandi Parliamentary Constituency, told reporters on Friday that he had been deeply hurt over the dictate of NGT imposing heavy environmental charges on Rohtang bound vehicles hitting hard the owners of cars and buses who had to pay back heavy installments of loans and interest to banks and financial agencies. He said people expected justice and due consideration from the courts which were expected to discharge justice after listening the affected and aggrieved parties.
Sharma said hundreds of telephone calls were being received by him from the affected parties who were reeling under panic. Gloom was looming large among all the sections of the people related to the hotel industry. I have also brought the gravity of the situation to the notice of PM Narendra Modi and other leaders to take immediate steps to end the deadlock without further delay.
Vishwanath Sharma, senior Advocate, says natural justice seemed to have been ignored in the current ban on vehicles to Rohtang Pass, which attracted thousands of tourist to Manali every year. It was mandatory to abide by the general principles of natural justice and not starve the poor people involved in the hospitality industry, who eked out a bare living, he added.