The devastation caused by torrential rains that lashed Uttarakhand earlier this month is expected to cause a loss of Rs 12,000 crore to the State’s tourism industry in the current fiscal, says a PHDCCI survey.
“Uttarakhand was expected to generate Rs 25,000 crore from tourism in 2013-14. Although Rs 5,000-6,000 crore have been generated from the first three months alone, the State is expected to realise only Rs 5,000-6,000 crore in the coming months as major tourism destinations have been washed away by recent floods,” S.P. Sharma, Chief Economist at the PHD Chamber, said quoting the survey.
Tourism sector contributes 25-30 per cent of the State’s Gross Domestic Product, and therefore the State exchequer is likely to take a major hit, Sharma added.
The survey conducted by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry also estimates that around 11 per cent of Uttarakhand’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for this fiscal has been ruined in terms of prospective tourism earnings on account of the flood in all its riverbeds.
“GSDP of Uttarakhand at factor cost at current prices stands at about Rs 1,07,548 crore as on March 31, 2013.
However, 11 per cent of the GSDP has been washed away in terms of prospective tourism earnings due to floods that engulfed the State in the middle of this month,” PHDCCI Executive Director Saurabh Sanyal said.
Moreover, the reconstruction of damaged tourist destinations is expected to put a burden on the State Government, the survey said.
Over 8,000 people are still stranded in Uttarakhand with torrential rains hampering the rescue operations yesterday.
The death toll in the State following the calamity stood at 822 with 142 bodies being found, including 127 in Kedarnath.