Almost all the picnic spots in Srikakulam district have lost their sheen in the auspicious Karteekam, thanks to non-availability of cash due to demonetisation.
Normally, the season witnesses hundreds of picnic parties in several beaches such as Kalingapatnam of Gara mandal, Shivasagar Beach of Palasa and Telineelapuram. Several organisations, associations and communities take up fun activities in the groves. Temple tourism too witnesses a boom.
However, the situation is different with the cash crunch. Buddhist spots Salihundam, Dantapuri, temples at Arasavalli, Srikurmam, Srimukhalingam, Ravivalasa and others used to witness ‘Vana Bhojanams’ and other recreational activities. The rush at the Arasavilli temple has also come down.
In fact, the Tourism Department is normally flooded with calls for booking of cottages in Kalingapatnam and other places. Srikakulam District Tourism Officer N. Narayana Rao said inquiries had come down drastically. “Many tourists from Bengal enquired about the facilities and accommodation till a few weeks ago. But they dropped the idea with the non-availability of Rs.100 notes and the Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes,” he added.
The situation has come as a big jolt to hotels and catering wings too. They used to get orders from various sections for the supply of food and snacks to the picnic spots. Many private caterers depend on Karteekam which is considered to be the biggest season. “Almost all the orders had been cancelled this time. It is very difficult to manage the things since we have to pay rent for storage points and wages for the workers,” said Babaji, a caterer.
The occupancy ratio of hotels has also been affected. Normally, the OR will be above 75 per cent with the arrival of tourists. However, it has come down to 30 per cent, leading to heavy loss of business for the major and medium hotels.
