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Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani reopen for tourists; viewing points to remain close
A negative report is a must, either Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) or RT-PCR Test if one is planning to stay at the hill station, said, officials
After almost two months, the administration has allowed the entry of tourists into Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani from Monday (June 21). A negative report is a must, either Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) or RT-PCR Test if one is planning to stay at the hill station, said, officials.
However, the administration has decided to keep all the viewing points closed for eight more days.
The decision was taken during a meeting conducted at Hirda rest house, Mahabaleshwar, on Friday where representatives of traders and hoteliers were also present.
“For tourists who are coming for a one-day visit carrying a negative report is not a must, but if you are planning to stay at a hotel then a negative report is a must. The market will be open from 8am to 4pm. Tourists can roam around the city, but they cannot visit the viewing points. The decision on opening these spots will be taken after eight days,” said Sangita Chougle Rajapurkar, sub-divisional officer, Wai.
“Till now all the shops were closed and traders have welcomed the move to keep shops open till 4pm,” added Rajapurkar.
The administration has also decided to conduct a rapid antigen test of every visitor at the Dandeghar naka (octroi) check post.
“The decision was important for hotel business as in the last 15 months it had suffered a lot. We had presented our standard operating procedures (SOP’s) in a meeting with the administration. Every ten days we will conduct an RT-PCR test for staff and once the vaccines are available to complete staff will be vaccinated,” said Javed Sunesra, president, Panchgani Hotels and Welfare Association.
“The positivity rate of the Satara is 8.6 per cent and bed occupancy is 37 per cent so we came under level 3 till last week we were in level 4. We are following all safety and preventive measures. In Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani we will decide on reopening of viewing points after eight days,” said Shekhar Singh, district collector of Satara.
The visitors have already started visiting Mahabaleshwar as a decent crowd was noticed at the Venna lake on Saturday.
“Today no tests were conducted at the Dandeghar naka (octroi). We will be returning today afternoon,” said, Vishal Gokhale, a resident of Kothrud.
Meanwhile, the situation in Lonavla also remains the same for tourists as all sight-seeing destinations remain close.
The Bhusi dam has overflowed after three days of heavy rains in Lonavala. The hill station received 400 mm rain in the last three days.
15-day quarantine if norms not followed strictly: Ajit Pawar
In the review meeting conducted on Friday, representatives from the police have informed the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar, about people visiting tourist designations in huge numbers during the weekend.
“The administration had said over the weekend huge rush of people were noticed at the places like Lonavla, Khandala, Mahabaleshwar and a queue of vehicles were noticed at Khopoli bypass,” said Pawar, after the conclusion of a review meeting at Vidhan Bhavan, Pune.
“Many are travelling out of Pune district for trekking or visiting religious spots or for outings. If such activities continue in large numbers we might have come out with the order of 15 days quarantine for whoever goes out of the Pune district. All need to follow norms and stay safe,” he said.
“Although positivity rate is dropping in Pune city, places like Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Beed, Osmanabad, Kolhapur, even in a few places in Pune district the positivity rate is higher so we have decided to impose weekend restrictions again,” said Pawar.
