By Sunil Sonker
Mussoorie, 7 Aug: A meeting of the Mussoorie Homestay Association was organised here today. The focus of the meeting was the ever-increasing problems of homestay operators, and serious questions on the role of the government and the tourism department. There was an open discussion on the improvement of homestay policy, the process of registration, the ground reality of government schemes and the functioning of the officials.
The sharpest opposition in the meeting was seen against the rule proposed by the government under which tourists have been asked to register online before coming to Mussoorie. Homestay operators clearly say that this rule will not only cause inconvenience to tourists but will also have a negative impact on regional tourism.
Homestay Association President Devi Godiyal said that when tourists reach Mussoorie, only then they decide where they will stay. In such a situation, the registration arrangement should be done in the same hotel, guest house or homestay where they are staying.
It was also revealed at the meeting that the government’s homestay scheme is being promoted, but the ground reality is something else. The operators allege that neither new homestays are being registered, nor old licenses are being renewed, due to which they are facing financial and legal problems. An operator from Mussoorie said that they had recently met the District Tourism Officer and raised this issue.
District Tourism Officer Pandey took the problems of the operators seriously and instructed the subordinate officers that every Saturday an officer of the department would be present in the Mussoorie Tourism Office, who would listen to the complaints of the operators and resolve them on the spot. It was also decided that, in the coming days, a general meeting of the Homestay Association would be organised, in which a new executive would be formed. A membership campaign is also being run to strengthen and expand the association.
Association President Devi Godiyal said that the government intends to take the homestay scheme to every village, so that migration stops and new doors of employment open at the local level. “We want to support the government with full strength in this vision, provided the administrative hurdles are removed,” he declared.
He said that, while on the one hand, the meeting showed the unity and awareness of the homestay operators, on the other hand, it also made it clear that if the administration does not improve, then they would not shy away from raising their collective voice.
Mussoorie BJP Mandal President Rajat Agarwal was also present at the meeting. He said that the government is fully committed to the homestay scheme and is ready to give all possible help to the operators. However, he made serious allegations against some officials of the department and said that some of them are deliberately harassing the homestay operators to tarnish the image of the government.
On this occasion, Vyapar Mandal General Secretary Jagjit Kukreja, Balwant Thapli, Kuldeep Rawat, Devchand Kumai, Anil Goyal, Anupam Negi, BS Negi and many others were also present.
