Tourists make beeline for Shimla ahead of New Year

Sameer Singh

Shimla, December 25

Inflow of tourists to Shimla has increased significantly ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations. As per the Police Department’s record, over 55,000 vehicles entered the capital city over the weekend and numbers are increasing with the New Year drawing nearer.

To avoid congestion on city roads, the district police have devised a comprehensive traffic management system. Under this, vehicles coming from Chandigarh side are halted outside the city near the Shoghi barrier for some time before releasing them in small clusters.

HP has stood up again: CM

We welcome the tourists who have thronged the state in huge numbers. Himachal Pradesh has stood up again to welcome tourists after the natural disaster during the monsoon season. —Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chief Minister

Apart from long queues of vehicles stopped as part of the traffic regulation outside the city, no major traffic jams were reported in the city and largely vehicles moved around in a streamlined manner.

Meanwhile, huge rush of tourists was witnessed in the Ridge and the Mall areas of the city on occasion of Christmas. Many tourists were seen enjoying the Winter Carnival that started on Monday.

Of the over 55,000 vehicles that entered the city in the past three days, 24,231 bear the registration numbers of other states. While a majority of tourists visiting Shimla and other destinations are staying in the state until the New Year celebrations, many tourists from Chandigarh and other northern states left the city on Monday.

With a huge tourist influx, the tourism industry in the city and state would get the much-needed shot in the arm. The tourist industry in Shimla and other parts of the state was at the lowest ebb in years following the rain disaster.