PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Nainital
As soon as tourist season has started in Nainital, the city’s traffic system has once again come under severe strain. A long queue of vehicles, stuck on the iconic Mall Road, is being seen daily since the morning. While vehicles either stand stagnant or move on at snail’s pace, traffic logjam persists. Locals say that things are in such a mess that the office-goers reach quite late. “With bumper-to-bumper traffic jams being seen on Upper Mall Road, it takes us a long time to reach office. So many turn up late,” lamented a daily commuter, adding that the traffic authorities remained just mute spectators of their on-the-road woes.
They are not wrong. Parked vehicles on the roadside narrow the road while the increasing number of tourist vehicles further worsen their ordeal. At many points, cars are found overtaking one another recklessly with the drivers’ patience wearing thin, increasing possibilities of accidents. “Police personnel on duty are, of course, trying their best, but they cannot do much in the absence of an effective traffic plan to decongest the roads,” said another resident.
Residents demand the administration to strictly prohibit roadside parking on Mall Road and surrounding areas, develop additional parking facilities and strengthen traffic management system during the tourist season.
Told about the public woes, the superintendent of police, Jagdish Chandra stated that stern action is being taken to remove parked vehicles from Mall Road and other roads.
Notably, tourists are now streaming into Nainital and other high-altitude places across the district to get relief from the summer heat scorching the plains.
