COVID-19: Tourism, mobile theatres suffer the worst 

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Two successive blows – one by the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) agitation and the other by the coronavirus scare – have literally left Tourism and Mobile Theatre industries in State tottering. While the Tourism industry in the State is going to fall short of meeting its target achievement by around 40 per cent, the foreclosure of its season by the mobile theatres has led the industry to incur a huge loss.

Both Tourism industry and mobile theatre were badly affected during the anti-CAA agitation in December-January. With the situation calming down, footfalls of both foreign and domestic tourists were witnessed in the State. Likewise, mobile theatres were also able to pull crowds in the nooks and corners in the State till the corona scare spelling everything doom for them. Following a directive from the government, all the mobile theatres stopped their shows from March 14 and 15. Barring the main stars, all others in the mobile theatres are working on a daily-wage basis with free of cost food and lodging.

Talking to The Sentinel, State Commissioner-and-Secretary of Tourism department M Angamuthu said, “The revenue loss incurred by the Tourism industry because of the anti-CAA and coronavirus scare is huge. Of late a few foreign and domestic tourists were seen to have arrived in the State, but now the flow came to a standstill. We’ve around 300-350 foreigners in the State now. They’re waiting for going back to their respective countries.”

ATDC (Assam Tourism Development Corporation) Chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah said, “Our expectation was quite high this year. We did expect 130 per cent more tourists than what it was last year. However, the increase won’t be a reality now. However, visitors’ flow in the KNP (Kaziranga National Park) is almost of 90 per cent at that of last year. The hotel industry and cabbies have to suffer a huge loss. All national parks in the State have been closed till March 31.”

Awahan Theatre’s executive producer Prastuti Porasor said, “Even during the six-year-long Assam Agitation mobile theatre shows were not closed. That was because the entire Assamese society was involved with this industry. However, we’ve to foreclose the season following a directive from the State administration. This is a severe jolt for the industry, especially to the technocrats who eke out their livelihood through this industry. I, therefore, request the government to give a package for the technocrats as compensation, not for the producers who can absorb the shock.” There are around technocrats 5,000 engaged in mobile theatres in the State.

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