Thursday, 08 April 2021 | PNS | New Tehri
The surge in the incidence of Covid-19 cases has also affected the boating business at Tehri lake as the number of tourists has decreased since the restrictions were put on the tourists in the state.
The boats have not been used since the past one week forcing the boat operators to stage a protest against the restrictions on tourists in the name of Covid 19 testing. They alleged that the tourists coming to Tehri are being harassed and are being asked the Covid test report which has resulted in cancellation of bookings in the district.
The boat operators are bearing the brunt of the cancellation of bookings and have demanded that the government not charge license fee of Rs 10,000 per boat and provide Rs 10,000 per month to the boat operators.
The patron of boat operators Ganga Bhagirathi Boat Union, Kuldeep Panwar along with other members gathered at Koti Colony and protested against the conditions that have affected the inflow of tourists in the Tehri lake. Panwar alleged that the tourists were being harassed in the name of Covid-19 test resulting in a smaller number of tourists visiting the boating site in Tehri lake. He said that it is strange that thousands of people can crowd for West Bengal elections without any SOP, but tourists cannot enter Uttarakhand freely.
He demanded that the government should not charge the license fee of Rs 10,000 until the situation becomes normal.
