E-Paper
Residents head uphills as Himachal opens its borders
Travellers from tricity made a beeline for Himachal Pradesh soon after the state opened its borders for outsiders.
Travellers from tricity made a beeline for Himachal Pradesh soon after the state opened its borders for outsiders.
At least 35,000 vehicles crossed the Chandimandir toll plaza on Saturday, while the figure was 34,300 a day before.
“The number of vehicles crossing the toll plaza has increased as compared to the last week. About a week back, we roughly had about 30,000 vehicles crossing the toll per day,” shared an official at the plaza.
Another summer retreat for travel enthusiasts — Morni — remained out of bounds as the Panchkula administration had on September 15 closed the hill station for outsiders on weekends to prevent ‘obstruction, injury and annoyance’ to locals due to regular traffic congestions being witnessed there lately. The ban has, however, been revoked.
The closure also forced many to head to Himachal for a break.
‘Cash payment of toll plaza causes congestion’
Long queues were seen at the Chandimandir toll plaza as about 17,000 vehicles that crossed the barrier had FASTag, while the remaining ones opted for cash payments. The toll official said, “The long queues are the result of people still opting to pay by cash.”
Most of those headed uphills had planned a day trip, while a few sought to spend the weekend there. “We are driving up to Kasauli just to enjoy the weather. It is almost after six months that we have moved out. We will be back by midnight,” said Balinder Singh, a resident of Sector 21, Chandigarh.
“What could be better than visiting the hills to break the monotony and recharge yourself,” said Manpreet Kaur, an IT professional from Panchkula, who was on her way to Barog with her friends.
Restriction on traffic to Morni lifted
Panchkula DCP Mohit Handa on Saturday withdrew the order of restricting the traffic movement to Morni. As per the order issued in the evening, DCP Handa said, “In light of opening of the tourist traffic at the borders of HP, the order issued on September 15 was reviewed and keeping in mind the overall public interest the said order stands withdrawn with immediate effect.”
However SHOs have been directed to continue patrolling and surveillance in Morni and adjoining areas of Panchkula to maintain smooth flow of traffic and law and order situation.
