The floods have sunk much of the hospitality industry in Badrinath-Hemkund Sahib region as it has washed away more than three dozen lodges and hotels along the 130 km road from Gauchar to Badrinath and left most of the rest damaged and all but deserted. 

The region hosts crowds of pilgrims and tourists in June-July and hotels, lodges and shops do brisk business. Many take loans before the tourist season begins and it is they who have been hit the hardest as prospective visitors cancelled bookings. Many are now packing their bags as not many tourists are likely to arrive in these ravaged hills for at least a year as per a report in Indian Express.

"People had started coming and our hotels were getting full. Now everything is ruined. People have cancelled bookings and hotels are lying empty," Vishnu, a hotel manager in Joshimath, rued. 

Rakesh Singh, a hotelier in Chamoli, complained of the government's lack of concern for them. "Parts of hotels were washed away, causing us immense loss," he said. "There has been no word of solace from the government till date. Since everybody's focus is on stranded tourists, nobody is looking at us." 

Not far from Rakesh's hotel, stands the desolate skeleton of once impressive SP Lodge. "The morning of June 17 ruined my life," said the lodge's owner Birender Singh. "I came to my hotel and saw that the lawn and 10 rooms were not there. The roof had also collapsed," he said. "I had stocked two truckloads of supplies but everything was gone. It was a terrifying scene." 

Birender is among those planning to leave. "Since no more tourists or pilgrims are expected for another year, I will go back to my native place in Gujarat," he said. 

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