The tourist town of Manali is in a rebounding mode, so is the case with Shimla and other stations in Himachal Pradesh.  But hoteliers beyond north portal of Atal Rohtang tunnel have more or less shut down their hotels due to the freezing of water supplies in Lahaul valley. Today they face a fresh uncertainty over Christmas and New Year bash as Centre has imposed fresh restrictions on big gatherings while Delhi government has banned Christmas and New year celebration in view of recent surge in Omicron variant cases mainly in Delhi and Maharashtra in India. 

“It is a day long struggle to fetch even a good pale of water in Keylong, the district headquater of Lahaul-Spiti”, said local residents. The water sources and supply to homes and hotels have frozen as the temperatures has dipped to -10 degree Centigrade to -13 degree Centigrade for the last one week in the landlocked valley, they said.

After a complete  lean season last year, the hoteliers in all hill stations including Shimla, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Manali are hoping for a good season. Christmas and New Year revellers and other tourists have been zeroing in on tourist towns  with the bookings looking up.  But it will not be as good partly due to fresh coronavirus fears in the country and the fresh restrictions imposed on celebrations and large gatherings  by  Centre today. 

Delhi and other places in the country have banned Christmas and New Year celebrations in view of a  surge in Omicron variant cases, whose number has surpassed over 213 cases as on December 22.  

The hoteliers fear that the fresh restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs may hit the arrival of tourists in the coming days in Himachal.

So far the arrivals were good. The occupancy rates in hotels  was expected to average around 70 per cent around Christmas and New Year, said Mukesh Thakur, president, Manali hoteliers’ association. The bed capacity has gone up as number of home stays and guest houses  has increased over the years in Manali, he said.   

But the scene at the other side of the Atal Rohtang tunnel is  different- it is  literally “icy and bone-chilling”. The tourists are making a beeline for the north portal, a window to Lahaul valley. But barring a few dare-devil nature lovers, the tourists are evading the Lahaul valley for an overnight or day long stay as there is not even a  single hotel in Lahaul which offers central heating system  and most hotels have been shut, said the hoteliers. 

“We have shut down most hotels mainly because the water source and pipelines are frozen. It is hard to get water for tourists”, said the hoteliers.  The water freezes the moment it comes out from the pipe even in day time, they added.  

Hoteliers were hoping for a tourism boom due to an all-weather connectivity to Lahaul valley after the opening of Atal Rohtang tunnel ended its history-long isolation from the rest of the world in winter months.

Last year, it was the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic that shut the entire country and hit tourism industry badly till recent months. Even now, tourism industry has yet to come out from the shock,  with the hoteliers still reeling under a steep slowdown in business, they said.

But the icy winds and freezing cold that sweep the snowclad Lahaul valley have rendered them helpless. The scarcity of water, power cuts, and lack of central heating system, which is beyond the reach of hoteliers, continue to dash their hopes as infrastructure to beat the big winter chill remains a pipedream.

The “historic hole in towering snowclad Rohtang mountain” has yet to usher in a blessing for Lahaulis who have opened their homestays, guesthouses and hotels in a big way with a hope that Atal tunnel will be a harbinger of winter tourism in Lahaul.  But most of tourist choose to go back to Manali the same day after visiting Koksar  or so even during this summer, what to talk about winter, said the hoteliers  

The frozen water sources and pipelines that start melting in the afternoon due to sun heat refreeze by the evening. This vicious cycle is going on for the last one week that has made a pale of water a highly prized commodity for residents in the snowbound Lahaul valley these days, said Norbu, a resident of Lahaul.

In winter months, water remains a big problem in Lahaul as the water sources and water pipelines freeze. “The water supply is not done in insulated pipes as is the case in many snowbound countries in Europe, said Tashi Harpa, president of Lahaul-Spiti hoteliers’ association.

The hoteliers have no option other than shutting down their units. Most of the catering staff leave the valley in winter months as there is virtually no business in winter here,  Tashi said. “But   the hoteliers keep  two rooms or three rooms open for convenience of the tourists, who dare to face odds and insist on visiting places like Shashin, Keylong, Jispa and Udaipur in winter so that they find no problem”, he said.

The hoteliers tell the tourists in advance that they will have to bear with them for the scarcity of water as it is not in their hand. This problem is not new this year. "It happens every time in winter and we have to shut down hotels as it is difficult to get even enough amount to meet out the expenditures and electricity and maintenance charges", said Bir Sing another hotelier in Lahaul.  

Not only this, the driving and travelling on the icy layer of road also needs an experience and skills of driving. Most tourists are avoiding taking risk traveling beyond north portal at Sissu.  Most tourists from the plains lack this, said the policemen, who keep on struggling escorting the stranded tourist vehicles during the snow season.  

Lahaul-Spiti district administration has allowed the traffic from north portal of Atal Rohtang tunnel on Manali- Keylong stretch of Manali-Leh national highway till Jispa and Darcha from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm daily.

“We are allowing the tourists to Lahaul from north portal of Atal Rohtang Tunnel, who have confirmed booking in Lahaul” said Neeraj Kumar,  district magistrate, Lahaul-Spiti. “There is no restriction on plying of traffic from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm in Lahaul these days”, he said.

Neeraj Kumar said the main problem is water   as the water sources and water supplies have frozen due to the freezing temperatures. Water is  being supplied in  the afternoon, but the supply refreezes by the evening due to extreme drop in temperature, he added.

The water is freezing in Keylong and Udaipur towns, which are the warmest by Lahauli standards, but in Chandra, Darcha and Jispa valleys the scene is even more freezing, said locals. The Chandra valley gets more snow and is chillier, said Himaal Thakur.  

(Kuldeep Chauhan is Editor, Himbumail)