Traffic congestion in peak tourist season this year has literally choked Nainital, leading to frayed tempers and fuming residents. According to estimates, more than 1,000 vehicles are entering the hill station every day with the number jumping to almost 2,000, carrying close to 10,000 tourists on weekends.
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The resultant traffic snarls,?say residents, have forced the town's people to be virtual prisoners in their own city. The 2km stretch of the Mall Road between Tallital to Mallital is the worst affected, say residents. "During the evenings, when the Mall Road is closed, side roads witness jams as vehicles are diverted to these routes, creating a nightmarish situation," said Naveen Tiwari who has a shop on the road.
Besides the main roads in the town, the approach roads, especially National Highway-87 which connects Rampur to Nainital, are often blocked. It can sometimes take 5-6 hours to reach Nainital from Haldwani, a distance which can usually be covered within 1-2 hours.
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The situation is no better in Mussoorie. Renowned author Ruskin Bond, who stays near Landour Bazaar, told TOI he dreaded stepping out of his house during weekends. "There is a never-ending stream of cars going towards Landour from in front of my house."
Last month, the Uttarak hand high court taking a strict stand on the traffic congestion in Nainital, had banned entry of mini buses and heavy vehicles. Sources said that the ban had helped ease the situation somewhat but now, the town continued to grapple with the onslaught of cars and other private vehicles used by tourists.
"We had to extend our school's summer va cations by four days due to the huge amount of traffic congestion in the town. The situation is such that one can't think of even riding a two-wheeler for fear of getting stuck in the jam.Even walking has become an issue due to the congestion."
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Officials responsible for managing traffic said that they are trying to do their best to tackle the situation. "On weekend, there are almost 10,000 people coming into the town. No one is allowed to violate rules and fines are imposed on those who are not following rules," said Harish Chandra Sati, additional superintendent of police, Nainital.
A cloudburst between Patseo and Zingzing Bar, 166km from Manali, blocked the Manali-Leh highway at 9 pm on Tuesday night and left 1200 tourists stuck on both sides of the damaged road for over 17 hours. The road was cleared at 2.30 pm on Wednesday.