With the temperatures in the plains rising high and monsoon anomalies exacerbating the resulting inconvenience, the flow of tourists to hill stations in Uttarakhand has seen a marked increase this year.
As people from the plains and neighbouring states and NCR visiting hill stations and Char Dham shrines in Uttarakhand, people in places like parts of Dehradun and Mussoorie are bearing the brunt of problems resulting from the flood of visitors.
The roads are packed with four- wheelers especially on the weekends as seen on the road from Dehradun to Mussoorie as visitors seek higher ground for relief and relaxation.
As a result, various localities in Dehradun and Mussoorie face a string of problems due to the traffic jams, inadequate transport services and other aspects.
“Tourism is the primary source of income for many in the hill station of Mussoorie. Here, the majority of the businesses rely on the tourism which reaches its peak in the summers. But, the locals have to suffer too.
The chaos due to traffic jams, overcrowded roads and water shortages are some of the major problems we suffer” says Mussoorie resident Raj Bijalwan. Talking about the inconvenience caused to people at bus stations Raghav Bijalwan, a resident of Landour, Mussoorie says, “ We can see the long queues of people standing in the Mussoorie bus station that causes problems not only to the tourists but also to the common people of Mussoorie. We have to stand in queues for hours. The traffic is also increasing daily, which is causing a lot of inconvenience to the people.”
Most of the buses and other vehicles are already booked for the Char Dham Yatra which leaves the locals with few options to visit their homes in the mountains.
Asha Juyal, a passenger going to her village, waiting for the taxi at Rispana Taxi Stand explained the general problems faced by the passengers saying, “It has been more than an hour since we have been waiting for the taxi.
Two weeks ago while going to Srinagar there were long queues of cars and other vehicles and we were stuck in jam for about three hours.”
While the commuters are struggling to get seats, the drivers too are tired of frequent traffic jams. “Traffic Jam is the main problem during Yatra season,” said taxi driver Rajendra Singh.