Long weekend brings traffic snarls on Himachal, Uttarakhand routes
What's the story
The three-day Gandhi Jayanti weekend has brought an influx of tourists and pilgrims to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. This has resulted in traffic snarls on major routes leading to popular tourist destinations such as Manali, Shimla, and Mussoorie. The rush was mainly due to the October 2 government holiday that allowed travelers to take advantage of the extended weekend.
Route congestion
Traffic jams on Chandigarh-Shimla highway
The Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway-5 saw a massive traffic jam on Friday as tourists headed to Himachal Pradesh.
Long queues were seen on the Kalka-Shimla highway, with vehicles moving slowly for hours.
The usual three-and-a-half to four-hour journey took several hours longer due to the traffic surge.
Vehicles were lined up for kilometers, and traffic personnel were deployed at various points to regulate movement.
Tourist rush
Manali's roads see tourist rush
Manali also witnessed a major influx of tourists during the long weekend, leading to congestion on several mountain roads.
Visuals shared by news agency ANI showed long queues of vehicles as tourists arrived in large numbers.
The situation was particularly challenging for travelers hoping for a quick getaway from their routine, with journeys stretching significantly longer along mountain roads.
Pilgrim movement
Seven-kilometer-long jam reported in Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand, heavy congestion was reported on the routes to Badrinath Dham and Hemkund Sahib as pilgrim numbers increased during the long weekend.
A seven-kilometer-long traffic jam was reported between Joshimath and Marwari, with vehicles queued from Zero Band area toward Marwari.
Pilgrims reportedly took one to three hours to cover the stretch, with traffic moving briefly before coming to a halt again.
Pilgrimage surge
Increased pilgrim movement on Char Dham routes
The weekend rush also saw increased movement of pilgrims on other Char Dham routes. Rudraprayag Police reported a sharp increase in devotees visiting Kedarnath Dham due to the weekend.
Uttarkashi Police said the pilgrimage to Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham was proceeding smoothly, with open routes and uninterrupted traffic.
The heavy tourist and pilgrim movement across both states led to prolonged delays on several routes during the extended weekend.