New Delhi: Amid the huge influx of tourists in state and incidents of law abuse by some errant & inebriated tourists, a statement by Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has stirred up a debate.
Notably, a lot of tourists, from Delhi & adjoining NCR have flocked the hilly state, owing to long Christmas weekend and upcoming New Year celebrations.
Tourists in large numbers headed for Manali this weekend, creating huge traffic chaos & snarl on the Lahaul-Manali route. Long traffic jams were reported from various places in the state.
Himachal CM on Monday urged the incoming tourists to follow the rules & regulations and also had a word of caution rather than warning for misbehaved & drunk tourists.
He said that if police finds drunken tourists, the latter will be sent back to hotels and not land up in jails. This ‘accommodative’ approach of Himachal CM has led to a big debate on social media, with many calling out the state govt for its ‘meek & weak’ policy in managing the trouble-mongers.
For the unversed, Himachal Pradesh has been reeling under huge economic debt, because of tragic floods. With such welcoming gesture for tourists including the drunken ones, the Chief Minister has given his detractors a chance to target him. Experts believe that this step will go a long way in bringing more tourism in the hilly state and in turn benefit its infrastructure & income generation capacity.
“We want to promote tourism in the state. We have opened eating joints, Dhaba, and restaurants that will function 24 hours a day, starting from December 20 to January 5. So that the tourists do not face any problems,” the Chief Minister said.
It may be noted that the state government has already decided to keep hotels & restaurants open for 24×7 a day for tourists.
In the long weekend extending to Christmas, at least 55,000 vehicles had crossed Atal tunnel in Rohtang in past three days. A couple of videos also surfaced on social media, showing big traffic chaos on the roads. According to police data, about 12,000 vehicles pass Shimla on weekdays for holiday while during weekend, this surges to 26,000.
Viral video earns angry diatribe from netizens
Earlier in the day, a tourist drove his Mahindra Thar SUV inside a river to avoid traffic snarl. The tourist is seen driving his SUV through Chandra river in Lahual valley, drawing angry criticism from lot of netizens.
After 2 extra pack of whisky..#Manali #Tourispic.twitter.com/8yUdKyfvMf
— Rajneesh Saini 🇮🇳 🧘♂️ (@rajnish123saini) December 26, 2023