With no place to drive and park, Bhagsunag under tourist siege

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, June 16

Heavy and consistent traffic jams have paralysed movement in the Bhagsunag area of Upper Dharamsala. The weekend rush, coupled with the increasing temperatures in the plains, has resulted in an influx of large number of tourists in this area. Tourists are trapped in long queues of vehicles on Mcleodganj-Bhagsunag road.

Vehicles parked along the Mcleodganj-Bhagsunag road have added to the traffic snarls. The locals blamed the local administration’s failure to construct multi-storey parking in Bhagsunag to reduce traffic congestion in the area.

Influx of tourists

• Long queues of vehicles on Mcleodganj-Bhagsunag road on weekend
• 10 years on, aternative road connecting it with Indrunag to be completed
• Locals have demanded a multi-storey parking in the open stretch of land

Vipin Sharma, a hotelier from Bhagsunag while talking to The Tribune said there was space for parking just about 50 vehicles in Bhagsunag. The remaining vehicles get parked along the roads. “The construction of multistorey parking in Bhagsunag and completion of Bhagsunag-Indrunag road that would create an alternative road for reaching or exiting Bhagsunag area can solve the traffic problem of the area,” he said.

As per information collected by The Tribune, the area where vehicles are currently being parked is open forest land. Since there are no trees on that particular patch of land, the locals have been demanding construction of a multi-storey parking. However, the authorities have not got permission from the Forest Department to divert the forest land for parking purposes.

Many hoteliers have also not created enough parking place in their premises for parking. However, the locals claim public parking in the area was necessary and it should be created under the Smart City Dharamsala project.

The project to connect Bhagsunag area with Indrunag has also been lying pending for the past more than 10 years now. The road could not be completed as a bridge needs to be built over a local rivulet. Sources here said that the state government had sent a project to NABARD for securing funds. The sanction for the project is yet to be received from NABARD.

Till a public parking is created in the area and the road connecting Bhagsunag and Indrunag area are completed, the Bhagsunag area that is a major tourist attraction in Dharamsala would continue to jostle with the problem of traffic jams.