Traffic jams give tourists harrowing time in Manali
Dipender Manta
Tribune News Service
Manali, January 12
Long traffic jams in Manali town is causing a lot of inconvenience to tourists visiting the town.
The tourist influx has increased in the town due to snowfall. Though the district administration has opened the road for vehicular traffic, it failed to provide parking facility for tourist buses.
Due to non-availability of parking space, tourist buses were parked on the roadside up to Manali in a haphazard manner causing traffic chaos in the region. In the morning hours, traffic situation remains grim because of frost.
Shefur Rehman, a tourist who came here along with his friends, said long traffic jams made their journey miserable. “We were stuck for more than half an hour in a jam near Manali town. The state government should ensure proper traffic management system to regulate traffic,” he said.
“However, later reaching at the snow point near the Nehru Kund, we were happy because this was our first experience with snow and we enjoyed it,” he said.
A majority of tourists lamented that they felt tormented while stuck in a traffic jam, adding that after enjoying snow activity in the region, they forgot their sufferings.
Kullu-Manali Hoteliers Association president Gajender Thakur said the district administration should clear snow from the parking place of buses near the Aloo Ground.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Manali, Punit Raghu said: “It is because of the Public Works Department’s apathy as it failed to clear the parking place near the Aloo Ground. I have written to the authorities to clear it at the earliest.”
Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Manali, HR Bairwa said the authorities would clear the snow-covered parking places in the next one or two days for the smooth flow of traffic in the town.
