Tourist rush brings traffic to a halt in Mussoorie

MUSSOORIE: There was severe traffic congestion in different parts of Mussoorie on Friday as people from other parts of the country looked for a weekend getaway from the sweltering heat to enjoy the pleasant weather conditions in the Queen of Hills.
The terrible traffic jam —which was caused by tourist rush —was aggravated by lack of proper parking areas. Residents reported that traffic bottlenecks started from Kuthalgate (on Mussoorie-Dehradun road about 5 km from Dehradun) as vehicles were stopped at RTO check post at Kuthalgate followed by intermittent snarls at Shiv mandir where roadside parking of vehicles is an issue.
“Long queues of vehicles were seen at the eco-tax collection barrier at Kolhukhet where people had to wait for more than 10 minutes,” said Devender, a local resident.
Upon reaching Mussoorie the tourists had to face moderate traffic jams at Picture Palace while the situation was worse at Gandhi Chowk and in the nearby areas where tourists were caught up for long periods of time.
Annoying traffic jams were also observed at Kempty Falls and on the Mussoorie-Kempty fall road.
“It took over four hours for a guest staying at my hotel to reach Mussoorie from Kempty falls,” said Abhishek Hari, a hotelier.
Residents opined that heavy rush of tourists and lack of parking facilities in the town were the biggest cause of traffic snarls across the town.
“The town does not have adequate parking areas and this forces the tourists to park their vehicles alongside the road which is one of the main causes of traffic jams in the town,” said Shalabh Garg, a resident.
Locals also said that the increasing number of taxis in the town and roadside parking of taxis at the stands on both the town entrances is another cause of traffic bottlenecks.
In fact, the Mussoorie Traders’ Association on Thursday had submitted a memorandum to sub-divisional magistrate of Mussoorie asking to shift taxi stands from near the Mall road to Kincraig.
Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, SHO Mussoorie Bhawna Kainthola could not be contacted.