With the Char Dham Yatra in full flow and consistent traffic congestion becoming an issue, the traffic directorate has decided to increase the deployment of Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) personnel on Yatra routes. For the upcoming Ganga Dussehra and Nirjala Ekadashi, Haridwar district police have been issued necessary directions regarding force deployment by the directorate.
Director of Traffic directorate, Keval Khurana said, “The main problem is increasing number of tourists this year. Last year in the entire Yatra season about 26 lakh tourists came, this year the number has gone above 17 lakh in just a month. It is economically good news for our state, but we have to enhance our resources too.”
He added, “For the smooth flow of traffic at bottleneck points we will be deploying 200 PRD personnel in Haridwar, 200 in Dehradun, 200 in Tehri, 150 in Badrinath and 200 in Kedarnath. If other districts will give us their requirement for extra deployment, we will provide it.”
When asked about the major factors behind traffic congestion on Yatra route he said, “Basically, people need to work together for smooth operation. When it is evident that number if tourists has increased, at least local people from mountainous regions can minimise their use of four wheelers. What we need is a combined effort.”
He further added, “A truck on Monday became the reason for traffic jam in Devprayag. There was a mechanical fault, because of which the tyres were jammed for about two-hours.”
When asked about the advance preparation for monsoon season he said, “Like every year, it is expected that number of tourists will decrease during the monsoon period. However, our personnel will be stationed on the routes as before. Further, the State Disaster Response Force has set up posts at necessary points.”
He added, “We saw the biggest challenge for traffic management on Somwati Amavasya in Haridwar recently. Taking that in to account, we have issued necessary instructions to Haridwar district police.”
It is important to mention that all Yatra routes are jam packed this year because of multiple factors. At some places it is the pending construction work of all weather road and at some places it is the width of the roads not meant for two big vehicles to pass at the same time. According to the officers of departments concerned, next Yatra season will see smoother flow of traffic than this year after the completion of all weather road project.