5L vehicles cross Shimla in 2 weeks, leaving town choked

Navneet Rathore

Shimla, June 16

More than five lakh vehicles have crossed Shimla, the state’s capital and one of the most popular hill stations in the country, in the last two weeks, thanks to the huge in inflow of tourists. This includes all types of vehicles entering and exiting the town from all the entry and exit points.

According to police, as many as 5,12,345 vehicles visited the town in the 13 days until Friday, which is a very huge number as compared to the total capacity of the town. On an average, more than 25,000 vehicles are entering and exiting the town on a daily basis.

Shimla Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev Gandhi said that the town witnessed a record number of vehicle inflow in the last two weeks. “The total number of vehicles crossing Shimla has doubled with the town witnessing 100 per cent increase in the vehicle inflow than normal,” he said.

He further said that in view of the rise in vehicular traffic, the police has re-implemented the one-minute traffic plan in the town to ease traffic woes. “The one-minute traffic plan was introduced last year and was a success during the apple season as well as the winter season. The plan was discontinued as number of vehicles decreased in the town and now with the surge in vehicular traffic, the plan has been reintroduced and is generating positive results,” said the SP.

The surge in the number of tourists has brought cheers to the hoteliers and business owners of the town. Tourism and hospitality sector in the town was going through a rough phase due to the Lok Sabha elections that were held in seven phases from April to June. However, over the past two weeks, international and domestic tourists have made a beeline to the town. Tourists can be seen enjoying in popular tourists spots of the town. Besides Shimla, tourists are also heading towards popular excursion points Kufri, Narkanda, Tanijubbar, Naldehra to name a few. President, Shimla Hoteliers and Tourism Stakeholders Association, Mohinder Seth said that the hotel occupancy during the weekends has reached around 80 to 90 per cent while it was around 40 to 50 per cent during weekdays. Minakshi, a tourist from Delhi who was taking a stroll at the Mall with her husband and children said that Shimla was one of her favourite hill stations and she never misses a chance to visit it. “It is an amazing experience to take a stroll with your family on the roads surrounded by lush green pine trees” she said.