“WE HAVE FOCUSED ON BRINGING CHANGE ON THE GROUND”

The Covid pandemic did not spare Himachal Pradesh. Tourism in the state was hit hard, but the apple economy mitigated some of the damage. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, 56, spoke to Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa and Senior Editor Anilesh S. Mahajan on the impressive progress his government has made in vaccinating its citizens and sounds confident that tourism and other state industries will soon be running at full steam. Excerpts:

- Raj Chengappa and Anilesh S. Mahajan

Q. Horticulture is your economy’s mainstay. Were you able to sustain production despite the pandemic? What steps are you taking to improve the situation?

A. At around Rs 4,500 crore, apple cultivation contributes significantly to our state’s economy and we did well last year despite the Covid restrictions. The challenge most orchard owners face is that once the apples reach the market, it creates a glut and prices crash. Apart from government agencies, we are working with the private sector to set up cold chain facilities and other infrastructure. We are expecting that these units will be commissioned next season onwards, and we will have the capacity to process the fruit as well. We are also assisting orchard owners to buy hailstorm safety nets by providing 80 per cent subsidy on it. Apart from this, we are supporting them in setting up solar fencing to keep away wild animals from their fruit trees.

Q. How badly was Himachal’s tourism industry hit by the two waves of Covid?

A. It was bad. The tourism revenue took a hit of around 75 per cent last year. But this year, with things opening up, revenue has revived by about 50 per cent. We are just keeping our fingers crossed. We had earlier relaxed restrictions on tourists vis-à-vis producing RT-PCR tests and vaccination certificates to enter the state. We witnessed a sudden rush of tourists but it also led to a surge in active cases. So, we had to put the restrictions back. We had also opened the educational institutions in the states from August 2 but had to shut them down again as well. We are focusing heavily on vaccination.

Q. What is the status of Covid vaccination in the state?