Commuting a nightmare in Shimla

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 25

While awful traffic snarls are a common scene in all hills stations, in summer, it is even worse with traffic congestion and frequent jams, making it a nightmare for tourists visiting the capital.

Narrow hilly roads with construction work in full swing and long queues of vehicles parked on the roadside greet tourists at short intervals. The situation is same everywhere — be it Shimla, Kullu, Manali or Chamba. However, travelling to Shimla and the upper areas is a dreadful experience.

Normally, it takes 80-90 minutes to reach Shimla from Solan by car, but nowadays it takes two to four hours as tourists remain stuck on the roads for hours.“I had planned a short visit to Shimla from Solan, but it took me about four hours to reach Shimla and traffic jams added to our woes. We had to stay in Shimla for the night,” said Manish Joshi, who had come to his hometown at Solan.

The number of vehicles entering the town has increased manifold and there is no relief from traffic jams even after entering Shimla. The parking on the roadside, which were constructed to ease traffic congestion, have become major bottlenecks.

“I used to drop my son to school that earlier took 10 minutes, but for the last few weeks it is taking 45 minutes to one hour,” said Rajesh, a resident of Chhota Shimla, adding that commuting in the city had become a harrowing experience.

“Shimla has got the Smart City tag, but water is coming on the fourth day, parking has become a luxury, open green patches is a thing of the past and to add to the miseries of the people, the government has brought retention policy to regularise all illegal construction,” said BD Joshi, who regrets having settled in Shimla after retirement.

Hotels are packed to their capacity and tourists are at the mercy of guides, porters and taxi operators, who are working as touts of hoteliers and getting huge commission. Huge traffic jams are a common sight between Shimla and Kufri and other tourist destinations.The government has failed miserably in easing traffic congestion.