Hi All,
Greetings of the day!!!
Thanks for your mails and I understand your apprehension on the points in the subject of mails. As I am currently travelling in India it is best that all the issues explained in this blog post.
1. THE POWER ISSUE IN INDIA:
I have received more than 100 calls and even more mails regarding this in the last four days. Needless to say that the media has again blown this out of proportion. Personally, I have not faced any problem till now and have enjoyed continuous supply of electricity all over the places in North that I have been travelling through. In the last couple of days that I have been in the New Delhi Office there has not been any issue. The outside world must understand that almost 40% of India (mostly villages) do not have regular access to power as it is. If we consider the current population of India that works out to 500 million people. According to the world media (dependent on Indian media feeds) 600 million people are without power because of the grid failure so we are talking about extra 100 million only and I am not sure whether these people usually have continuous supply. Each and every friend, family and our guests currently living / travelling in India have enjoyed uninterrupted power. By now it is 90% restored and in another 12 hours they expect normalcy again. (That means 500 million people who do not have power would not have power). We pay our taxes and according to the current 5 year plan (India works on 5 year plans since it is a huge, backward and very populous country with a vast mix of culture and ethnicity) every year 50 million people would be added to the electricity grid.
2. THE TIGER ISSUE:
The decision of the Supreme Court goes against the very tenets of the Wildlife Protection Act of India as well as the National Tourism Policy of India. It also defies all logic as what it is saying is that it blames Tourism for all failures of Project Tiger India and also for the state of the Tiger in India today. This goes against all known scientific studies on the Conservation of Tigers which have clearly stated that poaching and habitat loss and fragmentation have led to the steep decline in Tiger numbers in the country. (In the last one year it has grown by 20% though)
The impact of this decision will be enormous as 53 Reserves in 17 states of India are affected. The loss of jobs to local communities at all levels of skill will be huge. In a majority of these areas, tourism is the only real source of income apart from rain-fed subsistence agriculture. For states like Madhya Pradesh, wildlife tourism is one of the most important sources of Income generation for the state. Not only will accommodation providers, park guides and safari vehicle drivers be affected but people like vegetable sellers, carpenters, masons, transportation providers, shop keepers, laundrymen etc. will lose their only source of livelihood. Stakeholders from across the country will be getting together to put a plea to the court to change the decision.
It is sad that the Court and NTCA chose to blame tourism instead of working with all stakeholders to conserve tigers. The slow alienation of the private sector, tourism industry, and concerned individuals from the Conservation of Tigers and their Habitat is a cause for grave concern. It is imperative that the Court recognizes the value of well managed and regulated tourism industry and focuses on defining better management plans, obtaining more resources, soliciting cooperation and implementing a strategy for development of lands within buffer zones of Parks.
It is suggested that the new guidelines as PROPOSED (word to be noted) by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India (NTCA) will impact on all accommodation providers located within the buffer zones of Tiger Reserves. Luckily most of the resorts are located outside the buffer zone of all Tiger Reserves and so far will not be subjected to the new (proposed) cess and laws in the guidelines. Being in the industry for more than 20 years and having references in all Government and non-Government bodies relating to tourism, I would recommend that we all wait till the end of September to take any decisions. Once the judgment is received then we can work together to do all that is necessary. I am optimistic about the outcomes and suggest that for the next month we all continue our planning as normal. I do not want to go on record regarding this but am sure this is just a political move as most of these issues always are. The only difference is that because of an aggressive media more people come to know of it. The whole issue is just to appease a section of voters for winning a particular state or a few constituencies. (If I have to believe the high profile lawyers working on it then a "stay" or a "slightly modified paper" on this proposal is imminent).
3. ASSAM RIOTS:
India has a history of riots and the only good thing is that most of it has moved to the interiors of the country and only happen once in a while. (This means in another couple of years we would have seen the last of it) More people in India are killed in a year due to road accidents than in riots. I would not be worried about some riots (and people getting injured or killed) in some remote village of an unimportant place in the country. I am not being heartless here - it is a fact that this riot is because of some refugees crossing over from Bangladesh into India and eating away the livelihood of the villagers on Indian side. Please do not forget that the population of India is 1.2 billion (maybe 1.3 while I am writing this email) and that even after all these deaths due to riots, child deaths, floods, famines, female foeticide, accidents, fires, etc. Moreover, the growth engine is chugging along at around 6% which is almost that of China. The Indian middle class is also the biggest market in the world with the maximum number of domestic consumption and tourism.
CONCLUSION:
After having travelled through a large part of the world (some developed and some not) and after having lived in all types of cities I would not feel unsafe in India. It is not because I am an Indian but because I know how INDIA works. India would not get into something like an ARAB SPRING or it would not become a communist FACTORY and will keep growing in a sensible manner. The Indian BANKS are safe, the GOVERNMENT is rich & flush with funds, the middle class is growing, the INFRASTRUCTURE is developing rapidly, the REAL ESTATE is growing at a faster rate than CHINA for the last ten years (real estate in New Delhi or Mumbai is more expensive than in London or NYC), factory workers are earning more wages, UNEMPLOYMENT is at its lowest (quite a feat with a huge population) and an ever growing middle class with more & more buying power together are helping the economy grow. We should not forget that almost half of the top ten hotels in the world are in India. (reference CONDE NAST & TRAVELLERS).
You could all send in your mails, share this post and even share my coordinates with your friends if the need be. It will be my pleasure to be of any help.
