This summer season has seen a massive increase in the number of tourist arrivals in the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
All this simply points towards the need for a rethink on the tourism policy of these state governments.
The administration blacklisting around 3,000 violators had recently led to a strike by taxi operators that had made things go from bad to worse.
It has been reported that 90% of the hotels at these places have no parking facility.
“In Nainital, tourists reach up to Hanumangarhi from Delhi in five hours but it was taking another five hours to reach their hotels.
This has led to the crumbling of civic amenities and the result has been heaps of filth, public easing itself along the roads and total chaos on narrow roads.
Courting it The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the Senior Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate of Nainital to work out a plan to combat traffic snarls witnessed during the tourist season every year.
The advocate for the local civic body told the court that the state has released a fund of Rs 26 lakh to Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) that will look into the situation and implement plans for the betterment of roads.
Some days back, the high court had directed the state administration to come out with a long-term vision plan for regulating and managing traffic in Kullu, Manali, Rohtang Pass, Kasol and Manikaran.
The court had observed that – ‘Mere widening of roads or construction of new roads may not solve the issue per se.