Barely two months after the monsoon fury brought large-scale devastation and destruction to various towns of Himachal Pradesh mainly Kullu and Manali, the International Kullu Dussehra Festival has started bringing tourists back to the twin town. What’s more! Tourism in the twin town translates to livelihood.
Sunder Thakur, Kullu legislator, and chairman of the Kullu Dussehra Committee said, 13 of the 15 roads have been repaired to make the traffic functional and tourists have started trickling in. So much so that we have also started getting a huge number of foreign tourists. You can reach Kullu within four to five hours from Chandigarh. What more could one wish just two months after the monsoon mayhem,” he avers.
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Endorsing Sunder Thakur’s view is Anup Thakur, President Manali Prayatan Vikas Mandal, who says, “There are 2,500 hotel rooms in Manali alone. Normally, the occupancy is 90 per cent during the international festival of Dussehra. We are hoping that those many tourists will again visit Manali and even Kullu.” The signs of hope are clearly visible, he quips.
Not just domestic tourists, but even international tourists have started coming to Kullu and Manali. Sunder Thakur confirms, “Participants from 15 countries will be part of the weeklong cultural programme that follows the Dusshera celebration. Cultural troupes from the US, UK, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia, Iraq, and other countries have already reached Kullu to showcase their culture and heritage.” Also, tourists from as far as South and West India have started coming apart from the regular week-end tourists from Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi.
Anil Kant, a local businessman-cum-hotelier says the fear that had gripped the entire region has partially evaporated. The hustle and bustle in the market can be seen. And hoteliers are daily getting booking queries from across the country. Paras Thakur, owner of a taxi and homestay said, “I am suddenly witnessing an increase in the taxi and homestay bookings in the last 15 days. It augurs well and may continue well into the winters.”
Ram Rattan Sharma, president All Himachal Taxi Operators and Drivers Association says, the Dussehra festival has brought back business to the Kullu and Manali Valley by at least 50 per cent if we go by the number of taxi bookings. This is likely to go up to 90 per cent by the end of the Dussehra fest. “We have about 6,500 taxis registered with us and 3,500 of them are booked all the time.” He adds it seems by the end of the year Kullu-Manali will bounce back fully.
Ashwani Kumar, Additional District Magistrate and president of the cultural committee said that 11 star performers will enthrall the crowd during the Dussehra festival on different days. Some of the star performers who will be part of this fest are singer Monali Thakur, Harmony of Pines, Simar Kaur, Saaj Bhatt, Shivjot, Prince Dance Group, Shubhaank Sharma, Anuj Sharma among others.
