On the eve of the annual, two-week Ladakh Festival, city markets are deserted. Shopkeepers sit outside their shops waiting for customers. Hoteliers have virtually halved room tariffs from Rs 1,800 to Rs 900-1,000. The festival venue, Polo Ground, has been converted into a parking lot. Trucks, cars and other vehicles are parked there.

“Bodies are still being extricated… how can we even think of a celebration?” asks shopkeeper Tashi Angchok. “The money we make during the 15-day celebrations lasts through the year. Undoubtedly, we’ll face great hardship in the coming months, but that’s not the point,” says the owner of the Pashmina Boutique in the Main Bazaar here.

The Ladakh Festival sees both foreign and domestic tourists flock the valley and is one of the main sources of income for locals. What they earn during this period usually lasts till the next tourist season. This year, Leh was expecting to register a record increase in tourist footfall until Nature unravelled its plans.

After mid-September, very few tourists visit Leh. Even locals stay indoors as the biting chill sets in. T. Wangchuk, assistant director with the J&K Information Department at Leh says, “No celebration means a loss of crores. It will take Leh a long time to recover. After the catastrophe, tourists left the town and even if celebrations proceeded as usual, it wouldn’t have been of any use.”

The Ladakh festival is also celebrated in the Nubra Valley for three days, but the people there, too, have cancelled celebrations this year.

TT