Shimla: Devotees thronged the over 200-year-old Kali Bari temple in large numbers in Shimla for Navratri celebrations on Monday.
However, tourist footfall in the hill town was relatively less this year due to the recent flash floods induced by the monsoon fury in Himachal Pradesh.
"A large number of people gathered here for prayers during the Navratri. The monsoon rains this year inflicted unprecedented harm on civilian lives and caused a heavy loss to public infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh. Scores of houses were damaged or swept away and thousands of trees were uprooted.
Railway lines were also damaged. During the month-long holidays during and around the Navratras, scores of devotees from West Bengal travel to Himachal Pradesh. They start booking accommodations here two to three months in advance. However, due to the rain fury this year, many cancelled their reservations. That is one of the reasons why tourists from Bengal are relatively less this year," Mukti Chakarvarti, a priest at Shimla's Kali Bari temple, told a news agency.
The priest added that special prayers were held for world peace, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the prevailing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.Due to the floods and rain that ravaged the hill state over two months, in July and August, many tourists from Bengal cancelled their hotel bookings for the Navratri holidays.
"During the Durga Puja in Bengal, we go on vacations to Himachal. Shimla is serene and clean and I like to be here at this time. However, because of all the rain and the flash floods that the state experienced this year, many tourists from Bengal cancelled their hotel bookings. So, we have fewer tourists from Bengal this year," Ganesh, a tourist from Bengal, told a news agency.
"Also due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bengalis could not celebrate the Durga Puja like they usually do in the last couple of years. So this year, the majority of Bengalis are busy celebrating Durga Puja back home," the tourist added.