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Dec 2004
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No New Year celebrations after tsunami disaster

     New Delhi: A heavy heart in memory of those who died in the Tsunamis cloaks New Year's celebrations in the Capital. Most hotels across the country have cancelled parties or toned down the mood. In New Delhi, a number of highbrow hotels kept off the celebrations. Some of the restaurants would donate part of the earnings on the New Year eve to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. Many five star hotels in the Capital, where special parties, including theme parties are organised, now lie deserted. Year-end parties are the biggest money earners of the year. But officials said they were ready to forego that to show solidarity with the nation. "This year due to the tidal as a mark of respect we decided to call off the celebrations we are not having anything special in these areas," said Manjula Arun, General Manager, Public Relations and Culture, `The Ashok', a state-run five star hotel. All the state-run hotels have called off their New Year bashes to share the grief of the victims who have now taken shelter in various relief camps. Visitors agreed with the decision of hotel management to adopt a sober mood in keeping with the tragedy. "I feel they have done a nice job by cancelling this because one part of India is celebrating and another dying is not a good thing. So we have called off our New Year plans," Komal Singh, a visitor, said. Employees of several hotels and restaurants said they would contribute their day's salary for relief.

      In Bhubaneswar, local activists stormed a hotel that planned to welcome New Year in style. "We will damage all the hotels and restaurants who will host the New Year parties," said Hemant Rath, president of Kalinga Sena, a rightist group. But, hotel industry officials it was wrong to disrupt celebrations as members wanted to contribute to relief efforts from the earnings. "If they are so much concerned they should go to the victims and help the victims. Why are they creating problem for people in the city who want to contribute," said JK Mohanty, chairman, hotel and restaurant association, Orissa.
- Dec 31, 2004

Tsunami blow to tourism, fishing (Go to Top)

    Chennai: The killer tsunami that has already taken thousands of lives in southern India has badly hit the fishing and tourism industries of the region. Industry officials in India's Tamil Nadu, the second worst hit, said the impact on fisheries could be more. A large number of fishing boats and equipment have been swept away or lie damaged and officials say the damage could be as high as Rs. 2 billion. "It is going to have an impact on the economy. The fishing industry which has been very very strong exporter, it's going to be affected," N.Srinivasan, Director General of Confederation of Indian Industries, a powerful industrial lobby, said. Officals fear that tourism could also be hit badly. However, India's main beach attractions, Kerala and Goa, are on its west coast and escaped the tsunami. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on the east coast were hit hard but are not big beach destinations. "The devastation caused is going to be deter tourists from coming for a long time to come. So, that will have a major impact on the economy of the southern region," Srinivasan added. Official estimates say nearly 25 million domestic and 800,000 foreign tourists visit Tamil Nadu annually. Dec 31, 2004

UK Foreign Office amends Thai, Lanka travel advice (Go to Top)

     London: The British Foreign Office has revised its travel advice for Thailand and Sri Lanka, saying that no British citizen should travel to the affected resorts and towns in these two countries unless it is absolutely necessary. According to the advice, travel to Thailand's west coast, in particular Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak and Sri Lanka's eastern, southern and south western coasts has been declared out of bounds until local conditions improve. In Thailand there has been considerable damage to the underlying healthcare in affected areas. Flooding, stagnant water, disruption of sewer lines and poor quality sanitation conditions are conductive for development of disease. In Sri Lanka there is extensive damage to buildings and other infrastructure in the areas concerned and the emergency services are fully stretched. A significant number of tourist resorts have been damaged. Full details of the revised travel advice for Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries affected in the region are available on the Foreign Office website. (www.fco.gov.uk). The FCO travel advice can also be obtained on the following telephone number: 0870 6060290 This advice is based on the British government's latest assessment of the situation in Thailand, Sri Lanka and the region.
- Dec 31, 2004

ISO certification for 13 Indian trains (Go to Top)

     New Delhi: Thirteen pair of trains have been granted International Standards Organisation (ISO) Certificates for their above average and excellent services to the nation. According to a Press Information Bureau release, these include five pair of trains on Northern Railway, three pairs each on Central and North Central Railways and two pairs on West Central Railway. The ISO certified trains on Northern Railway are 2003/2004 New Delhi-Lucknow Shatabdi Express, 2403/2404 Delhi-Jammu Tawi Superfast Express, 2055/56 Dehradun-New Delhi Jan Shatabdi Express, 2057/58 Chandigarh-New Delhi Jan Shatabdi Express and 4229/30 Lucknow-New Delhi-Lucknow Mail. The trains on Central Railway are 2123/24 Deccan Queen Express, 2051/52 Jan Shatabdi Express and 2137/2138 Punjab Mail. Trains for Northern-Central Railway are 2417/18 Prayagraj Express, 2179/80 Taj Express and 1523/24 Jhansi-Banda Passenger. Similar trains from the West Central Railway are 2155/2156 Bhopal-Nizamudin Express and 1265/66 Rewanchal Express.
- Dec 30, 2004

Travel agents under pressure to locate missing tourists (Go to Top)

     Mumbai: Travel agents here are scampering to locate clients who have gone missing in South and SE Asia since Sunday when the tsunami hit the region. These agents claim that they are now facing a lot of pressure from relatives of those who have been reported missing, though some of the tourists who had booked the travel packages have responded. "We had a few clients who got stranded in Colombo and a group in Kanyakumari. There are some people in Thailand too. When this thing happened we could not get them on their mobiles even but later, they called up to say they were fine and want to move to safer places," said Markand Nirukar, a travel agent. Though the long-term impact of the tsunami on tourism is yet to be ascertained, the industry has taken a beating with most nations warning its citizens not to venture towards South Asia for a few weeks. Xin Lee, a tourist from Singapore, however, felt that the traffic would soon regain its momentum. "Relatively no, things are stable as long as we keep way from the coastal areas in India or Phuket. But the inland areas, I think should be fine," she said.
-Dec 29, 2004

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