Traffic jams greet tourists in Shimla

Bhanu P Lohumi

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Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 4

The tarring and road widening projects undertaken by the NHAI and the PWD led to frequent traffic jams in Shimla and its suburbs, which were packed to capacity with tourists this weekend. The worst hit stretch was the Shimla-Kufri road, commuting on which turned out to be a nightmare for tourists.

Tarring work is going on the Dhalli-Chharabra stretch of the road, due to which only one-way traffic is allowed on some stretches. As a result, traffic flow was disrupted for half an hour today but it took over two hours to normalise the situation as loads of vehicles piled up on the stretch and even ministers and senior bureaucrats were caught in the jam. As per a rough estimate of the police, about 8,000 vehicles entered Kufri today.

“A traffic jam started around 11.30 am and the situation worsened within an hour. It took us one full day to reach Kufri due to which a holiday was wasted. The administration should do something about the traffic congestion. What is the point of coming to Shimla if you are stuck in traffic for hours?” questioned Anurag, a tourist from Delhi who had come with his wife Anjali.

Commuting a nightmare

It took us a day to reach Kufri due to which a holiday was wasted. The administration should do something about the traffic jam. What is the point in coming to Shimla if you are stuck in traffic for hours? —Anurag, Tourist from Delhi

As many as 7,357 vehicles entered Shimla through the Shoghi barrier in the last 30 hours but tourists were greeted by frequent traffic jams and vehicles moved at a snail’s pace at several points, owing to the construction work under the Smart City project at 73 sites.

The easing of Covid restrictions has given a big boost to the tourism industry and occupancy in hotels in Shimla and its suburbs is about 95 per cent while roads are choked with vehicles. The occupancy in hotels is between 90 and 100 per cent and the advance bookings for weekends and weekdays are 80 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, said Sanjay Sood, president of Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association.

“Over 100 police personnel have been deployed on the stretch to ensure smooth traffic. We urge the authorities to avoid tarring and construction works during the weekends when the tourist inflow is heavy and complete the work during night hours when the traffic flow is low to avoid inconvenience to people,” said Mohit Chawla, SP, Shimla.

“The Shimla police are working hard for a smooth flow of traffic and we request the public to not park their vehicles at unspecified places,” he added.

If works continue during the peak tourist season, the situation will become alarming with the start of the apple season as hundreds of trucks ply on these routes, said a retired government employee.