WT20: Indo-Pak match shifting hits Himachal's hospitality industry

Dharamsala The political game over the staging of the IndiaPakistan cricket match in Dharamsala and later shifting it out of Himachal Pradesh has resulted in a revenue loss to the states hospitality industryFamily members of Pathankot attack martyrs Jagdish Chand and Sanjeevan Rana along with youngsters holding a protest against World Twenty20 match between India and Pakistan scheduled to be played in Dharamsala PicPTIThe shifting of matches has led to a revenue loss of more than Rs100 crore to the state exchequer Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association HPCA press secretary Mohit Sood told IANS on WednesdayHe said over 22000 tourists mainly from the plains of northern India were likely to have visited Dharamsala during the match slated for March 19The International Cricket Council ICC relocated the India vs Pakistan group stage World T20 match to be played on March 19 from Dharamsala to Kolkata citing security reasonsHPCA officials say the local hospitality industry was to get a major boost as a galaxy of Bollywood stars and corporate honchos were slated to descend here to witness the matchBusiness tycoons like Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani Videocon owner Venugopal Dhoot and Adani group chairman Gautam Adani had made their bookings for the match a senior HPCA functionary saidHe said union ministers Arun Jaitley and Piyush Goyal and BJP national president Amit Shah had also expressed interest besides other politicians in the matchThe town has 56 registered hotels and guest houses with a bed capacity of 1100Similarly McLeodganj the uphill quaint town that is the abode of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has around 91 registered hotels with a capacity to accommodate 1000 peoplePankaj Chadha owner of McLLo restaurantcumpub in McLeodganj said the hosting of the match would have certainly increased tourist footfallsWe were expecting huge guests Since the match was on Saturday we were expecting they would extend their stay at least for a day after the match Chadha told IANSThe mighty Dhauladhar peaks in the HPCAs showpiece stadiums backdrop the nearby British era tea estates and the spiritual pull of globetrotting Buddhist monk the Dalai Lama always give cricket buffs a time to relax and introspectWe were planning to spend a day in McLeodganj to know about Tibetan culture after the match Its really sad to know that the match has been shifted out of Dharamsala said Deepak Sharma a Chandigarhbased entrepreneurHis friend Saurabh Gupta said they had booked the hotel in advance and now they would get it cancelledThe popularity of the venue soared after nine IPL matches were held here and also the first OneDay between India and England on January 27 2014In the last Indian Premier League IPL season Dharamsala was not allotted a single match owing to the tussle between the Congressled state government and the HPCAIts only Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who has created an atmosphere of doubt over the IndiaPakistan match BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur the force behind the Rs100 crore 16 million stadium and ultraluxurious residential complex told IANSThe stadium first figured on the international cricket map in 2005 when it hosted a warmup tie between the touring Pakistan team and the Indian Board Presidents XIThe HPCA venue located at an altitude of 4000 feet above sea level is the first in India to use winter rye grass scattered around the outfield which prevents the grass from dying when temperatures fall below 10 degrees CelsiusThe stadium 250 kilometres from state capital Shimla has a 25000seat capacity besides a world class indoor stadium comprising video analysis facilities a club lounge restaurant bar and banquet hall