Holidays have tourists rushing to Mussoorie

Mussoorie, April 6
Tourists availing of the opportunity of an extended weekend due to two national holidays falling this week made a beeline for the Queen of Hills today to escape the soaring temperatures being witnessed in the plains of north India, bringing cheer on the faces of local businessmen.

Mahavir Jayanti on Thursday and Good Friday before the weekend have led tourists to rush to the cool climes of Mussoorie since yesterday.

A tourist from Patiala, Ravinder Singh Mann, while speaking to The Tribune, said due to the two holidays before the weekend they thought to take a four-day break from their usual busy schedule.

The elated local businessmen said they would be benefited financially by the heavy rush of tourists that would end on Easter Sunday.

The cable car on Gun Hill that had remained non-functional till a few days ago was also upgraded and it started functioning much to the delight of the tourists, who were interested in having a panoramic view of the Himalayas and the Dun valley from Gun Hill.

However, the rush of tourists also brought with it problems galore, as the town witnessed traffic jams at several places due to the lack of parking spaces. Commuters were stuck at several points on the Mussoorie-Dehradun highway as the road had been dug for the sewerage project.

Roop Chand Sharma, another tourist, said the tariffs of hotels, which were nominal till yesterday, had skyrocketed in just one night. The hotel room rates were beyond their budget and they were forced to cut short their trip.

The guesthouses were also renting rooms for a day or two at high rates. Some residential flats having no licence were also seen accommodating hapless tourists looking for rooms in the town.

Spokesperson for the Mussoorie Hotel Association Sandeep Sahni told The Tribune that most of the hoteliers were charging the rates displayed at the hotels, as the association had forewarned them sternly against overcharging tourists. He said the tourists could book rooms online or through telephone to avoid any disappointment later.

Officials of the local administration said they were on the vigil along with the police and had directed the hoteliers to display room rates at their receptions for the convenience of the tourists.

The tourists had been advised that in case of any complaint they could approach the police and the administration. The Municipal Council, the Jal Sansthan and the Health Department also put their act together as the last minute repair of public toilets, sewerage and the road was on till the filing of the report.

The rush for four days before the peak tourist season would also be a litmus test for various departments and allow them to overcome any shortcomings likely to emerge later.