Drying up of Udaipur lakes impacts Rajasthan’s tourism industry
By ANITuesday, July 6, 2010
UDAIPUR - The drying up of the lakes of Udaipur, known popularly as the ‘City of Lakes’ has impacted the tourism industry in Rajasthan.
The poor rainfall in the past two years has resulted in them drying up, thereby bringing halt to tourist activities like boating, which has brought down the inflow of tourists here.
“Each year, we go to a hill station in summer vacations but this time we decided to go to a different place, so we came to Udaipur to enjoy boating in lakes. But all the lakes in the city have dried up,” said Sunita, a tourist from Delhi.
“There is no water left in the lakes and no tourists can be seen,” she added.
Almost 40 percent of the total population of the city is directly or indirectly associated with tourism.
Small shopkeepers, jewellery and handbag vendors, tourist guides, porters, camel owners, taxi operators, and hotel owners are all facing the crunch.
“There is a shortage of water in the district. Boating activity is no more carried out in Pichola Lake and Fateh Sagar Lake. Udaipur is known as the City of Lakes, but the lakes are not there any more. The tourism industry has been affected,” said Yashwant, a hotel owner.
The small shop owners fear that their shops might close down following a decline in the inflow of tourists.
The city administration has, however, not commented on the issue. (ANI)
