A press meet was conducted in the town of the Members of the Uttarakhand Hotel Association where they acclaimed the decision of the state government for setting a target of bringing in 40 lakh pilgrims for the Char Dham and Hemkunt Sahib yatras this year.
President of the Uttarakhand Hotel Association, and also member of the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Sandeep Sahani noted that the state government has started putting remarkable efforts to accelerate the tourist inflow, in accordance to the suggestions made by the association members in the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Harish Rawat on December 28.
He honoured the state government decision to introduce helicopter service for Himalaya darshan in the state. He also commended the government’s decision to provide relaxation to tourists by waiving luxury taxes on the Chardham route. He said the 25 per cent concession given by the government in the helicopter fare to Kedarnath for the pilgrims is above 60 yrs of age is also fair enough.
Sahni sid the recent meeting of Chief Minister with the travel houses members boasted confidence among the tour operators towards Uttarakhand. The meeting was quite fruitful as several tourism friendly decisions were taken in the meeting.
The state government has also made an arrangement for stay of around 2,500 pilgrims at Kedar in huts and tents and the decision to organise daily langar at Kedarnath Shrine is also taken by Kedar-Badrinath Samiti.
In a step to improve tourist inflow in the state the state government is also planning to increase the number of helicopter service operators so that more tourist can visit Kedaranth shrine. The government has also eased the registration process for the pilgrims visiting the state by introducing online system. The pilgrims have been permitted to bring their own medical certificates during their Chardham visit.
Sahni noted the media persons that domestic airlines like Go Air and Jet Airways have taken the decision of starting direct flights from Mumbai to Jolly Grant airport near Rishikesh.
News Src : Tribune India, Mussoorie
img src: tribune
Published Date: February 11, 2015
