Real estate, tourism take a hit as Himachal & Uttarakhand reel under natural disasters

Incessant downpour and landslides have created a havoc in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. These natural disasters are now affecting the real estate and tourism sectors of the states that saw a boom only recently after the pandemic.

Threats over the major commercial and residential projects are also mounting as the nature's fury intensifies. A real estate developer based in Himachal has told Business Today that potential buyers who were showing interest in investing in a house in the Himalayan state are now backing off due to the continuous natural disaster.

“Demand for residential units, in the form of villas and apartments, grew exponentially in the past 3-5 years in Himachal Pradesh. Residents of Delhi-NCR and Chandigarh, even affluent buyers from towns like Lucknow, Ludhiana or Jaipur, especially who are exposed to beauty of the Himalayas in the state, were flocking to buy their second homes in these locations. However, after the massive disaster that unfolded this year demand is getting hampered. Many, who had shown interested in such properties are no more inclined to move forward with their purchases”, a real estate developer told Business Today.

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Over the past few years real-estate majors started investing in the Himalayan states of Himachal and Uttarakhand as more people from the northern part of the country started showing interest in buying a home in hilly regions. DLF which has big projects in Delhi and Haryana launched its luxury hillside project in the heart of Shivalik Himalayas in 2012. Spread across 58 acres and located in Kasauli, HP, DLF Samavana has luxury resort homes, including villas, plots and flats. With a starting price of Rs 1.05 crore—that went up to Rs 6.5 crore—it was one of the most expensive projects in HP. But that did not deter buyers, and it was sold out at the peak of the pandemic in 2020.

Like real-estate, tourism in the state is also suffering. Manish Goyal, Founder of Stotrak Hospitality that runs multiple hotels, holiday homes and is developing a residential property in HP, told Business Today that extreme pressure to ramp up supplies have caused much damage to the fragile ecosystem of the hills that is now causing havoc.

“This year July onwards the situation is really bad for businesses in the region. For the past month, businesses in HP have suffered majorly. While earlier it was the western and central HP, regions like Manali and Mandi that bore the brunt of damage, now even Mussoorie (Uttarakhand) is witnessing natural calamities,” Goyal told Business Today.