Shimla, Sep 18 (PTI) The communal tension due to protests in Himachal Pradesh over unauthorised constructions in mosques has cast a shadow on tourist inflow in state capital Shimla, according to hoteliers.
They said though the protests have been by and large peaceful, but the news has impacted tourism as many tourists are wary of coming to Shimla at this point of time.
"The occupancy in September normally is between 40-50 per cent but this year, it has dropped to 10-20 per cent due to the prevailing atmosphere," Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders Association president M K Seth said on Wednesday.
"Things can become worse if the situation escalates as tourists look for peaceful places to travel," he told the PTI, adding many bookings are getting cancelled.
The tourism industry has crippled after the Covid pandemic and last year's monsoon disaster wreaked havoc and caused heavy losses to the tourism sector, he said.
Seth claimed weekend tourism from neighbouring states has already been hit as tourists were harassed by rules of the district administration in the past.
Ten people were injured during a protest demanding demolition of a portion of mosque in Sanjauli area of Shimla last week. Last Friday, water cannons were used in Mandi on protestors demanding demolition of encroachment by a mosque on government land in Mandi town.
On Tuesday, the residents of Kasumpti in Shimla submitted a memorandum to demolish a mosque in Kasumpti area and similar demands are also coming in from Sunni and other areas in the state.
"The way the issue is spreading to other areas of the state, if not managed timely, there would be no atmosphere for tourists to visit," said local hotelier Ashwani Sood, adding that the bookings are getting cancelled.
"Himachal only offers natural beauty and peace to people and that is the reason that every year lakhs of tourists visit the state but if Hindu-Muslim disputes would start here, then who would visit the state?" said another hotelier seeking anonymity.
A dispute that started with a scuffle between a barber from the minority community and another local businessman in Malyana area in the suburbs of Shimla on August 30 turned into a communal issue with Hindu groups demanding demolition of unauthorised mosques and residents at large demanding identification and verification of outsiders coming in the state.