Revellers swamp Shimla for a merrier New Year

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 31

Tens of thousands of holidaymakers on Monday gathered in the capital city to bid goodbye to 2018.

The tourists are being greeted with the national song Vande Mataram and dos and dont’s. The authorities have installed speakers at various spots for the purpose. The Tourism Department has also erected welcome banners on The Mall and The Ridge.

With the possibility of snowfall on New Year’s eve and later, a large number of tourists today made a beeline for these stations. Long traffic jams were witnessed on the Tara Devi-Cart road and the Sanjauli-Kufri-Fagu road, causing inconvenience to the locals and office-goers.

Pubs, restaurants and hotels in the capital city are packed to capacity. “There are no music concerts or orchestra shows this time as it used to be the case earlier,” recalled Pranav and Arjun, who have come from Delhi to celebrate New Year here hoping for snowfall. The new parking complex near the ISBT has also been opened. The administration has installed a screen informing tourists about the availability of parking in the city. However, the authorities have not opened restricted roads to accommodate tourist rush this time.

Harman Kukreja, former president of the Shimla Hotels’ and Restaurants’ Association, said the tourist rush was this year low as compared to the last year. He attributed it to the bad condition of highways and the lack of snow.

Meanwhile, the city today recorded the minimum temperature of 5.6°C and the maximum of 14.4°C, thus making it a warmer day. Keylong was the coldest at -5.0°C while Kalpa recorded -1.4°C and Manali -0.6°C.

Director, Met centre, Shimla, Manmohan Singh said in view of the present Western Disturbance, isolated light precipitation was likely to take place in the higher reaches of the state in the next 24 hours. It would be followed by another Western Disturbance that might result in scattered to fairly widespread precipitation on January 1 and 2.

CM interacts with tourists

• On the last evening of 2018, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur took a stroll on  The Mall and interacted with the locals and tourists. He wished them a happy and prosperous New Year. He was accompanied by his wife Sadhna Thakur and Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj. He also enjoyed coffee at Ashiana on the The Ridge. 
• Governor Acharya Devvrat also greeted the people. He said he was hopeful that Himachal would witness more growth in the year to come.

Kasauli hoteliers gear up

• Solan: Kasauli hoteliers have planned special festivities to woo tourists. With the demolition exercise in summer taking a toll on their business, they are now pinning hopes on the New Year to pocket a healthy profit.  A number of   hotels, which faced demolition,  have re-started their operations after seeking due clearances. The hoteliers are offering lucrative packages. 
• “Special packages have been offered on rooms and a slew of festivities like a live band are the main attractions this year. The footfall has seen a surge as people prefer ushering in the New Year in Kasauli, which offers a picturesque view and old world charm away from the hustle and bustle of the city,” Gurpreet Singh, general manager, Kasauli Resorts, said. Though snow has eluded the area once again, it has not deterred the tourists from arriving here in large numbers. With a large-scale commercialisation of the area, a steep decline has been witnessed in snowfall. 
• “Lack of adventurous activities, however, acts as a deterrent   for the tourists to stay here for more than a day and unless more  activities are added, visitors find it hard to prolong their stay,” Amit Kumar, a tourist from Jalandhar, said.  As a precaution, the police have stepped up patrolling in the area. —TNS