The Nepal earthquake has caused some anxiety among tourists from Indian States who had made bookings at various destinations in Uttarakhand. With such tourists enquiring about any possible danger in visiting Uttarakhand from hoteliers, State Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai has stressed that the tremors in Nepal have not caused any damage to life or property in the State, claiming that all pilgrimage centres and tourist destinations were safe to visit.
Addressing the media at the Secretariat here on Wednesday, Dhanai said the State hoteliers association had written to the State Government to inform about tourists with advance bookings in Uttarakhand feeling concerned about their safety. “Advance bookings by tourists in some tourist destinations have been affected due to the Nepal quake but we have no accurate data on the number of bookings affected. However, we would like to assure all tourists that all destinations including the pilgrimage centres in Uttarakhand are safe to visit. There is no need to be afraid of visiting Uttarakhand due to the Nepal quake. The State is safe for visitors which is why a total of 1,15,162 people had visited the Char Dham shrines till May 11,” he said.
The Minister also informed that two toll-free numbers-the Char Dham Yatra control room on 1364 and the State Emergency Operation Centre on 1070 were open for enquiries. So far a total of 633 enquiries had been made on the toll free number 1364 which operates from7AM to 9 PM. Uttarakhand State Minorities Commission chairman Narinder Jit Singh Bindra said that army personnel and Gurudwara volunteers had already started working on clearing the route to Hemkund Sahib of snow. This task was expected to be completed by May 18.
Tourism Secretary, Umakant Panwar informed that there had been no reported loss of life or property in the State due to the Nepal quake. In case of any exigency, the State Disaster Response Force and district disaster management units have the manpower, training and directions to do the needful.