NEW DELHI, July 10: In a bid to check over-crowding of the hill stations, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered hotels in Nainital and Dehradun to cap the occupancy at 50 per cent.
The step has been taken as a large number of people are crowding popular hill stations after relaxations in the COVID-19 lockdown rules and a declining second wave of infections, an official spokesman of the government said. However, experts warn that violation of Covid rules can lead to grave results.
“We have issued an order regarding 50 per cent occupancy capping in hotels in Nainital and Dehradun. Challans are being issued to those who aren’t wearing masks. We are making efforts and will follow guidelines to contain the spread of the virus,” Dhami said.
In contrast in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the Chief Minister Jairam Thakur has appealed to tourists to follow Covid norms pointing out that the Corona pandemic “is not over yet.” “We need to save the tourism industry also. I held a virtual meeting with districts officials and directed them to monitor and regulate the crowd. COVID-19 is not over yet. Hotels are being asked to follow SOPs,” he said.
Scores of people were seen in the popular and picturesque Dhanaulti and other hill stations. “Due to opening of the place for tourists, revenue has increased. We’re following social distancing and check the Covid reports on check points. All precautions are in place,” official sources said.
On Wednesday, the Uttarakhand High Court had directed the state government to control tourist inflow and reassess its decision to relax COVID-19 restrictions.
“Last week a large number of people visited the tourist places in Uttarakhand. The RT-PCR test report will be seen at the border. We are in talks with hoteliers to not allow crowding at their properties. The police arrangements will be in such a way that there is minimum crowd,” a top police official said.
Propelled by the more transmissible Delta variant, coronavirus infections are rising across most regions of the world, said the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, adding that the pandemic isn’t on the wane. The WHO had warned the world leaders against becoming careless in removing the Covid restrictions to put at risk the gains made
In India, large gatherings leading to an increase in Covid cases have taken place several times, including the Maha Kumbh in Uttarakhand in April, and during campaigning for elections in April-May.
(Manas Dasgupta)
