The Tour Operators Association of Assam ( TOAA ) has requested the state government of Assam for support in order to sustain their businesses in the Covid-19 induced lockdown period and save their future.
The Tour Operators Association of Assam ( TOAA ) has requested the Government of Assam for some immediate relief measures to save them and save the tourism sector in Assam. They have put forward the following three requests to the government for the same end.
- An One time grant as immediate relief to sustain the business.
- Auto renewal of all the licenses, permits, and relaxation of all taxes and any penalties involved in the tourism and related business.
- Waiver on the fix electricity charges in the businesses.
The Covid-19 global pandemic has bought the whole tourism sector to a standstill from the first half of the year 2020. India came to a sudden halt on the 25th of March when the central government declared a lockdown. But the woes of the tourism sector started much before the Covid-19 induced containment policies. The end of the year 2019 saw the violent protests across the state of Assam caused by the then controversial Citizen Amendment Act ( CAA). These protests and the following curfews had put the tourism sector in a completely closed situation since the December of 2012.
Now with the first and second wave of Covid-19, and more than one and half year of closure, the tourism sector and all the allied industries are bearing the worst possible blow. Even the largest tourism event of the Northeastern region of India, the Ambubachi Mela has been canceled twice for any tourists and pilgrims. And with no future certainty in the sector, sustainability in this sector is becoming increasingly difficult unless there are some relief measures taken by the government to support the industry.
With compulsory testing at the entry points of the state and no inter-district travelling, Assam is currently maintaining a safe vigil of the Covid-19 scenario of the country.
