Tourism industry seeks relief.

MANSEHRA -- The tourism industry has demanded the government give it either permission to resume operation or relief package for survival during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The hotel owners complained that though the Kaghan-Naran section of the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road had been opened to traffic following the five months suspension, tourism activities continued to be at a standstill.

They said the road, which was blocked following heavy snowfall in Kaghan valley in Dec 2019, was reopened to traffic after the clearing of snow and landslide in the current week.

The hotel owners said with the reopening of road, the families, which had migrated to lower parts of Hazara division in 2019 as usual to spend harsh winter season but were stranded there due to Covid-19 lockdown, had started returning to their respective areas.

Kaghan hotel owners say they will follow SOP if allowed to operate

They said the road was reopened after the district administration allowed the national Highway Authority to move ahead as the chief minister's adviser on population and MPA, Ahmad Hussain Shah, met deputy commissioner Aurangzeb Haider and sought a safe passage for such families.

The hotel owners said the tourism industry in Kaghan valley, which usually began attracting tourists at the start of May, was at a standstill due to Covid-19 lockdown.

Kaghan Hoteliers Association president Saith Matiullah told Dawn that through the MNJ Road was reopened to traffic, while the clearing of the artery beyond Naran was in progress, the tourism industry was at a standstill.

'We want the government to either allow us to reopen or provide relief to our...

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