Covid curbs fail to deter weekend rush to the hills

Weekend rush of tourists continued at prominent hill towns of Uttarakhand on Sunday. Despite the recently-imposed restrictions to enter Nainital and Mussoorie — a mandatory RT-PCR negative report, registration on the Smart City portal and hotel reservation — heavy traffic jams were reported from both Nainital and Mussoorie. A total of 33,000 people visited Nainital from Friday to Sunday, according to data available with the police department.

Around 2,500 people found without the necessary documents were sent back from checkposts. “Checkpoints have been set up at all entry points to the town and almost every vehicle was screened to make sure no one entered without the proper documents,” said a police official.

Meanwhile, hotels remained full over the weekend in Nainital and tourist spots brimmed with people. There was heavy police presence in front of restaurants, at Pant Park and the town bus stand, with patrolling cops frequently disbursing crowds.


Similar scenes played out in Mussoorie on Sunday. A serpentine queue of vehicles stretched from Kincraig to Library Chowk. Verification of RT-PCR reports and other documents at the Kuthal Gate check post stalled traffic flow.

“We were stuck for nearly 45 minutes at Kuthal Gate. From Dehradun to Mussoorie, it took us nearly two and a half hours whereas on normal days, it just takes about an hour,” said Ashutosh Arora, who was visiting the town from New Delhi. The move to strictly check documents was welcomed by people in Mussoorie.