11 Jul , 2021 By : Kanchan Joshi
Nearly 2,000 vehicles going towards Mussoorie were stopped and sent back by the Uttarakhand police on Saturday, reported Live Hindustan.
This comes a day after the state government announced strict Covid-19 restrictions in a bid to control the influx of tourists and prevent overcrowding.
The police had stated the day before that additional checkpoints have been set up at the Kuthal gate and Kimadi areas that are en route to Mussoorie.
Only those who have the documents are being allowed to proceed to Mussoorie and the rest are being returned, Mussoorie's Circle Officer Narendra Pant said.
In addition to this, Uttarakhand has made it mandatory for tourists who are planning to visit Mussoorie and Nainital from outside the state to furnish a negative RT-PCR Covid-19 test not older than 72 hours.
Further, people are also required to register on the Dehradun Smart City portal and get a prior online booking of their accommodation.
Despite this, long queues of vehicles were seen choking the streets of Mussoorie town on Saturday.
"We came here to enjoy ourselves with family but due to heavy traffic, we have wasted a lot of time here in the car," a tourist was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
About the possibility of a third wave hitting the country, they said: "Yes it is risky. But if you are following the precautions then it is okay."
"The old lifestyle will not return, so all we can do is take precautions," they added.
Another tourist from Meerut said: "We are here to enjoy the weather. If we will always be afraid of Covid, we will not be able to live our lives."
Highlighting the parking crunch at Mussoorie, Tanishq, a visitor from Delhi told ANI: "We were stopped at the checkpoint since their policy changed midnight. The parking situation is very bad here."
"We are all vaccinated and are taking care of the Covid protocols, so I don't think there should be a problem," he added.
The authorities in Mussoorie have said that there has been a decline of 50% in tourist inflow due to the restrictions this weekend in comparison to the last.
The district administration had also earlier announced restrictions on visitors going to the Kempty fall, stating that only 50 people would be allowed at one time.
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