Uttarakhand : Tourists gathered in Rishikesh and Mussoorie over the weekend, arrangements collapsed
In front of the huge crowd of tourists in Yognagri, Rishikesh and Mussoorie on the weekend, all the arrangements of the police department collapsed. More than eight thousand vehicles reached Yognagri from different states including Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. On Monday, a crowd of vehicles was also seen on the road in Dehradun. The clock tower area got packed with traffic. Several tourists who were trying to cross the district border without registration and RTPCR report were turned back by the police at the check posts on the Badrinath and Gangotri National Highways. During this, many tourists were also seen getting entangled with the policemen at the check post. During the COVID curfew, silence broke for the first time in Rishikesh and Mussoorie on Sunday. Seeing the huge rush of tourist vehicles, the policemen posted at the COVID check post were also blown away. The process of tourists reaching Rishikesh had started since morning. At 11:30 am, there was a long queue of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh vehicles at Kailash Gate Chowki check post on Laxmanjhula Road.
Many tourists were turned back by the police for not having registration and RTPCR report. During this, when some policemen were busy in checking the registration of tourists and RT PCR report, some drivers also managed to dodge the police. The condition was worse near Tapovan police outpost check post of Badrinath National Highway at 12 noon. There was a one kilometer long queue of vehicles here.
Policemen were returning tourists for not showing registration and RTPCR report, but there were many tourists who insisted on going ahead at any cost. On this, there was a heated argument of the police with many tourists. During this, many tourists also left by bluffing the policemen posted at the check post. Police personnel said that they did not even expect such a huge crowd of tourists during the COVID curfew.
Policemen said that the number of vehicles coming from other states was more than six and a half thousand. On the other hand, at one o’clock in the afternoon, the crowd at the Bhadrakali check post on the Gangotri National Highway became a little lighter. Policemen said that till 12 noon, the number of vehicles coming from other states was more than 1500. The police had also returned about 700 vehicles for not having registration and RTPCR report.
The process of arrival of tourists vehicles started from 7 o’clock in the morning. When the crowd of vehicles started gathering, from 7 o’clock in the morning all the policemen of the outpost were busy in checking tourist registration and RTPCR with promptness at the check post. Tapovan outpost in-charge Anil Bhatt, Kailash gate outpost in-charge Bhatt Amit Kumar, Bhadrakali outpost in-charge Vikas Shukla were themselves taking the front at the check post. The sweaty policemen kept on giving duty till evening hungry and thirsty.
After a long time during the Corona period, a large number of tourists reached Mussoorie on Sunday. Due to this there was a situation of jam in various areas of the city including Lal Tibba Road. The police, who reached the information, opened the jam after a lot of effort. On Sunday, tourists were seen roaming in Hathi Pav Marg, Mall Road, Kampti Road, Dhanaulti Marg, but the tourists had to struggle to get to Lal Tibba, the highest point of the city.
Most of the tourists were seen roaming in Laltibba, Char Shop, Sister Bazar area. Tourists from different areas of Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh came to visit Lal Tibba of the city. At the same time, city Kotwal Rajiv Rauthan told that Laltibba road is very narrow. Due to this there is a possibility of getting stuck in the vehicles again and again. Police personnel have been deployed in Laltibba Marg.
