If you are planning a brief trip to Nainital to refresh your mind and beat the seething heat of Delhi and northern parts of India, it is better to travel in public transport. The district administration of the Nainital has issued an advisory pertaining to parking of tourist vehicles to check the massive traffic which was witnessed during the peak season. The administration’s directive states that the entry of tourist vehicles into Nainital must be proportional to the parking capacity of the tourist destination.
“A large number of tourists visit Nainital, Uttarakhand throughout the year. The number of tourists increases by the end of June and consequently, there is an increase in the number of vehicles entering in Nainital. All this is beyond the parking capacity of the city. It has come to our notice through various sources that due to the inflow of a large number of vehicles during tourist season there is a constant traffic jam in and around Nainital and it creates inconvenience for the tourists as well as for the local residents. In this scenario, keeping in view the convenience of tourists and local residents of Nainital in mind. It is essential that vehicles that enter Nainital must be in proportion to the parking capacity of the city,” a joint press communique released by Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital and District Magistrate Nainital stated.
The advisory comes on the back of Uttarakhand High Court’s reprimand to authorities for poor traffic management in the town earlier this month. Instead of welcome boards, tourists coming to the hill town are now greeted by “Nainital Houseful” banners in Hindi at all approach roads to the tourist hotspot including Bhimtal Crossing, Kathgodham Police Chowki Crossing and Nariman Crossing.
The district authorities have mentioned a few places where vehicles can be parked. “Keeping the public interest in view private vehicles entering Nainital which do not have reserved prior parking reserved/available for them, shall be stopped near Permanent/Temporary parking locations (Bhowali, Kaladhungi, Haldwani road) en route in order to prevent traffic jam in Nainital. To take care of tourists, shuttle service is being operated on the above mentioned three routes to enter Nainital city and vehicles of tourists shall be parked at the locations described above,” the advisory stated.
“Above mentioned arrangement is being enforced keeping the interest and convenience of the tourists in mind. Local vehicles, however, shall not be affected by this arrangement. This notification has already been published on June 13, 2018 with some errors. This is a clarification to it. Residents of Nainital and tourists visiting the City are humbly requested to extend their support to the District Administration of Nainital to make the above arrangement effective,” it said.
The Uttarakhand High Court had asked the Nainital district administration on June 11 to explain within a week why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against it for failing to implement its orders meant to improve traffic management in the tourist town. A division bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Lokpal Singh issued the notice while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Nainital-based activist Ajay Singh Rawat in 2012. In April this year, the high court had asked the state government to ensure that those coming to Nainital in their own vehicles should make advance arrangements for parking vehicles.