Having hope in his eyes, a middle-aged man, who had been observing us for last few minutes, came with a water bottle and said, “It is fresh water of nearby chashma”. I took it and gave him few rupees, which were much more for a vendor whose whole family was depending on him.
He only had a few water bottles and his hollow eyes were telling how he was hardly making ends meet. There were many such venders along roadside with local fruits, flowers, corns and other cheep things but no buyers.
It was a mid-summer when a bulk of domestic tourists from different parts of the country visit Murree to enjoy the pleasant weather with friends and families, particularly during middle of May to August when temperature remains 15 to 30. Unfortunately, the season was not as pleasant as it was in the past because of ongoing social media campaign against misbehavior of local hotel agents, hoteliers and transporters with the tourists.
The campaign not only affected their overall business but also caused a great sense of fear among residents of Galiyat and adjoining areas. Business activities have also seen a drastic decline in the backdrop of a general boycott of Murree by people from across the country.
As the campaign gained momentum, tourism and all its affiliated trades in Murree saw a major setback witnessing up to 70 percent decline in earnings as per some shopkeepers. It badly affected those people who were making their both ends meet by selling cheap goods on roadsides or associated them with other such small businesses.
Following the rising incidence of maltreatment of tourists in general and the recent manhandling of a female tourist by some hotel agents in particular, the government imposed section -144 against mafia and has decided to deploy special tourist protectionist force in Murree. The authorities have decided to install the close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at crowded public places, and establish special help desks for convenience of tourists.
Serving as a hot cake to those with drive for exploring different spots to spend holidays, the hill station is undoubtedly an amazing place and there is hardly anything quite as serene as seeing the countryside covered in a fresh sheet of snow. Following the preventive assurances from government, a large number of tourists, mainly from twin cities, thronged the hill station to enjoy snowfall with families and friends.
Many tourists and locals admit that there have been some isolated incidents troublesome to both, adding that this happens when hordes of tourists swarm across singular place at a time. In such situations, one or two unpleasant incidents could occur but this in no way can be turned into a systematic campaign to insult tourists. According to locals, the issue is overly exaggerated and things are not what they seem.
Currently, the hill site is receiving hundreds to thousands of tourists per day and even though business activities are resuming, many visitors especially ladies still feel insecure.
The insecurity buds largely from uncompromising attitudes of people who are not only locals but so called educated visitors too. Another factor is perhaps the turning of the tides in terms of local business landscape and particularly, gender roles.
For instance, increasing number of shops on Mall road, even those selling jewelry, having more male salesmen than female ones, is discouraging the latter to go inside or shop freely.
Added is the factor of the oddly different marketplace over the one women are used to back in their hometowns; thereby raising the need for ventures run by women.
In addition, such a huge rush has also resulted in extremely high prices of goods while quality is being compromised as for instance, food has increasingly become inferior and overpriced. People complain not receiving what they order and express dissatisfaction over services as well. No doubt, the hill station is extremely beautiful and attractive and a source of income for many local families; However, to keep it sustainable, it is imperative to develop a comprehensive strategy on rules and regulations for making it more affordable, comfortable and secure for people especially women.
Published in Daily Times, January 20th 2019.