Heat wave: Delhi-NCR travellers choke hill stations. Beware of weekend rush!
Tragically, the gridlock in Mussoorie claimed a life. A 62-year-old Delhi resident, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, couldn't get timely medical help and passed away.
'It was nothing short of a nightmare,' says Gurugram-based IT professional Kunal Bajaj, who got stuck on a two-kilometre stretch for nearly four hours with his elderly parents. 'Watching them suffer in the heat, helpless inside the car… I deeply regret suggesting this trip.'
While jammed hill roads aren't new during school holidays, this time, the crowd was unusually intense. Tour operator Sarvjeet Sankrit explains, 'Many people had postponed their trips earlier this year due to the tense situation at the LOC. That entire wave is now hitting the hill stations all at once.'
Geetika Prakash, a homemaker from Amar Colony, who was travelling to Rishikesh, echoes the frustration: 'We spent more time crawling in traffic than actually relaxing. It felt like we walked into a trap.'
Hotel bookings have also skyrocketed. 'We've been fully booked every weekend,' shares Praveen Dhami, reservations manager at a Mussoorie hotel, adding, 'A large chunk of our guests are from Delhi-NCR, but we're also seeing a lot of tourists from southern India. The demand is overwhelming.'
A post shared by Manali Vasi (@manali_vasi)
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