Ahead of New Year, Manali roads clogged up due to huge influx of tourists; PICS surface

New Delhi: Before the advent of New Year, the hilly locations of Himachal Pradesh are witnessing a big influx of tourists in the region. On Saturday, the road leading to Manali witnessed huge traffic chaos & snarls as large number of cars & other vehicles got piled up due to long traffic jam.

Many people from the plains , mainly from Delhi & adjoining areas are making a beeline for tourist heaves in Himachal like Shimla & Manali to ring in the New year with their near & dear ones.

Several pictures of long traffic jams emerged on social media in which the vehicles & cars could be seen queued up in a long line. The traffic to the city got hampered while tourists remained stranded on roads for long hours.

Since Manali remains one of the most popular locations on the hills, people frequent this place during winters for witnessing snowfall as well as celebrating new year.

After the inauguration of Atal Tunnel, the arrival of tourists has increased sharply in the hills. A long 4-hour traffic congestion was seen on the road, following which Kullu Police also issued guidelines to regulate the traffic on roads.

According to available data, more than 1.39 crore tourists visited Himachal this year, till November 30 as compared to about 55 lakh tourists arrived last year. Since December is the peak season not just for holidays but also for travel buffs, the state govt is hoping to get record number of visitors this year, after Covid-19.