lack of parking facilities, violation of traffic regulations and encroachments continue to impede the smooth flow of traffic at various places along the Char Dham Yatra circuit. Chamba which is on the Rishikesh-Uttarkashi highway, often witnesses traffic jams like the one on Thursday which saw vehicles transporting pilgrims and locals stuck on the road for about two hours.
The main reason for traffic congestion at Chamba, Ghansali, Nainbagh and lambgaon in the Tehri district for the past many years is said to be the absence of adequate parking facility or a proper bus-taxi stand. Many market areas that fall on the Char Dham circuit do not have adequate parking and this results in loss of time for the pilgrims heading towards Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath causing much inconvenience to the travellers.
The pilgrims heading towards Yamunotri get caught in the traffic at Nainbagh which also does not have adequate parking facility. The taxi-jeep owners park their vehicles on the roadside which narrows the road for traffic and impedes its smooth flow despite the construction of by-pass roads at Chamba and Ghansali in Tehri district.
Members of the local business community lament the fact that due to the frequent traffic congestion in front of their shops most of the pilgrims prefer to move ahead instead of shopping which results in loss to the traders. The Chamba Vyapar Sabha general secretary Sanjay Bahuguna has demanded that the administration should takes steps to streamline the traffic or a separate parking facility should be made for taxi-jeep owners so that the road remains free of congestion. When contacted, the Chamba police station in-charge KC Bhatt said that traffic police will be placed at the main crossroads in Chamba to ease the flow of traffic during the Yatra season. He also said that the owners of vehicles parked wrongly on the road would be penalised to deter them from parking improperly again.