Manali: Onset of the year ender festive week starting from 24th December, one of India’s most popular tourist destination – Manali has been experiencing successive traffic jams as thousands of revellers have thronged the township to usher in the New Year.
Long queues of vehicles are being witnessed on all roads in and around Manali town and old Manali.
The 24 km long section of the highway connecting Manali and Atal tunnel is also experiencing traffic jams. The traffic jams are occurring at at the north and south ends of the Atal tunnel as well as inside the over 8 km long tunnel.
According to officials, given the green tax barrier, an estimated around 19,383 tourist vehicles entered Manali in four days.
Inaugurated in October 2020, the Atal tunnel became one of the most visited tourist spots in Manali as tourists used this tunnel to visit the Lahaul and Spiti districts to witness snowfall.
Traffic situation in Manali 😳 pic.twitter.com/YAMagOgAY8
— Raj Bhagat P #Mapper4Life (@rajbhagatt) December 25, 2022
Traffic congestion arose due to the mismanagement of the traffic. More traffic jams are expected on New Year’s Eve as the tourist arrivals continue to be registered at Manali.
According to Manali police sources, the local administration has divided Manali into eight sectors to manage the traffic. As Manali needed more parking places, the traffic police were not allowing tourist buses to be parked on the roads.
The tourists have been advised to get the hotel booking confirmed, as 90 per cent of hotel accommodations in Manali and other tourist destinations have already been booked.
The fresh weather alert issued by the MET department said a western disturbance, which will be active , may bring snow and light rains in Kullu districts,
Meanwhile, the Himachal government, to facilitate the tourists, on Tuesday allowed the eateries to open round the clock till January 2, 2023.
Sanjay Dutta, an engineer by qualification but is a journalist by choice.
He has worked for the premier new agency Press Trust of India and leading English daily Indian Express.
With more than a decade of experience, he has been highlighting issues related to environment, tourism and other aspects affecting mountain ecology.
Sanjay Dutta lives in a village close to Manali in Kullu valley of Himachal.
