Now, traffic volunteers to help manage tourist rush in Himachal
Will execute community policing by increasing public participation for well-organised vehicular traffic flow
Ten days ahead of Christmas, hill stations are abuzz with tourist activities, much in contrast to the desolate scenes that had dominated the region after the monsoon floods.
Keeping in view the expected spurt in tourists, Himachal Pradesh Police have launched a traffic volunteer scheme in the state to better regulate and manage traffic and promote road safety.
The traffic volunteers will execute the concept of community policing by increasing public participation for well-organised vehicular traffic flow, increasing the quality of service and monitoring traffic related issues. The police department has issued context instructions and standard operating procedure (SOP) to all district superintendents of police.
Under the scheme, a group of volunteers from the state, above 18 years of age, will participate in traffic management and awareness and contribute in carrying out various traffic works.
The volunteers will help in traffic management by handling traffic at junctions, traffic awareness programmes, sharing traffic related posts on social media, traffic education, preparing audio/animated videos, and disseminating information about traffic rules, short movies, and stories related to traffic, sharing cartoon books, animated virtual road signs, creating slogans and messages for public awareness. The volunteers will also help people who will get injured in road accidents.
“The state has become a prime tourist destination over the years and the number of inland and foreign tourists visiting annually is over two times the population of the state. In the last few decades, Himachal Pradesh’s road network has grown manifolds. Vehicle numbers have also increased tremendously,” director general of police Sanjay Kundu said.
The tourist influx has come as a welcome gift for those associated with the tourism sector, which bore the double whammy, first in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic that brought the tourism sector to a standstill and then the monsoon floods this year.
“The streets, once abandoned, now echoed with the rumble of around 1,000 small and large tourist vehicles
arriving daily. It’s a positive sign for the tourism industry in Himachal Pradesh, which suffered heavy losses,” said Gajender Thakur, president of the federation of Himachal hotels and restaurant associations (FOHHRA).
The tourism stakeholders are expecting a full house, reaching 100% occupancy during the upcoming Christmas and New Year.
From Shimla to Kullu-Manali, Dalhousie to Kinnaur, the phone lines of tourist places in the state are buzzing with inquiries from travellers. The tourist influx is gradually increasing as the flood-ravaged Manali. At an average, 100 to 150 vehicles reached Manali in November but nowadays the green tax barrier is registering about 700 vehicles daily.
Border road organisation (BRO) opened its second cafe near the Atal Tunnel. Located 2 km from the tunnel, the cafe was opened as a public private partnership (PPP), following the success of a similar venture in Bahang.
The state capital Shimla also witnessed tourist rush this weekend. “We expect the tourism to increase this winter month,” HP tourism stakeholder president Mohinder Seth said.
