While the rush of pilgrims is causing inconvenience to both locals and visitors in parts of Garhwal, the rush of tourists on the weekend caused major inconvenience to the visitors and locals in Nainital. Such was the rush that considering a religious procession held on Sunday, the authorities stopped a number of vehicles from entering the city, despite which traffic congestion plagued various parts of the lake city. In addition to this, with hotels and guest houses all jam packed, many visitors had to spend the weekend night out in the open.
As the level of mercury continues to rise in the plains, the number of tourists arriving in Nainital has also been rising consistently. Due to full occupancy in the local hotels and lodges, many tourists were seen spending Saturday night on the footpaths, roadways bus station, Pant Park and DSA ground.
Further, the advent of large number of tourists is also causing traffic congestion in the city. To prevent such a situation, the authorities stopped a number of tourist vehicles outside the city. Despite this traffic jam was experienced on the Mall Road and various other localities of Nainital. Both the tourists and locals had to face major inconvenience due to traffic congestion at Tallital, Mall Road, Mallital, Pangut Road, Snowview Road, Raj Bhawan Road and other internal roads. In view of a procession taken out by members of the Sikh community on Sunday, the police stopped a number of vehicles outside the city limits. The tourists and locals were sent via shuttle service from Baldiyakhan, Charkhet and other sites to the city. The rush of tourists and other factors led to major disorder in the city on Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures on the day were 27.5 degree Celsius and 18 degree Celsius. The pleasant weather is one of the factors attracting tourists to this hill station but their large numbers are causing major inconvenience to both the visitors and locals.