People troubled by smog in Delhi-NCR are moving to the mountains (Photo- Jagran)
Jagran Team, New Delhi. People troubled by the increasing pollution and smog in the plains including the capital Delhi are moving to the mountains. The crowd of tourists has started increasing at the tourist places of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
35 thousand to 50 thousand tourists are reaching Himachal Pradesh on normal days of the week. This number can reach 70 thousand during the weekend. Winter holidays and approaching Christmas are also being considered as the reason for this.
Tourists reaching Nainital in Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand, a large number of people are reaching Nainital and Mussoorie and other tourist places like Dhanaulti, Auli, Chakrata, Ranikhet, Kausani, Mukteshwar, Naukuchiatal etc. This number is expected to increase during the weekend. People have made bookings in hotels, resorts and home stays.
A large number of people are reaching major tourist places in Himachal including Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Chamba. The number of vehicles coming to Shimla via Parwanoo is reaching 4,500 every day. It is increasing to 5,500 on weekends.
Occupancy in Shimla hotels 20 to 30 percent
A week ago, about 3,000 tourist vehicles were reaching Shimla. The occupancy in hotels in Shimla is 20 to 30 percent. In the major tourist destination Kullu-Manali, 1800 tourist vehicles reached Manali on Thursday. 14,940 such vehicles have reached Kullu district since December 1.
The occupancy in Manali ranges from 45 to 50 percent. The occupancy in the hotels of Dharamshala and McLeodganj has been between 20 to 30 percent for the last three days. The occupancy in Kasauli remained up to 40 percent.
Discounts available on booking in hotels
Bookings in private hotels and home stays with Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation have started increasing. 20 to 40 percent discount is available on booking rooms in private hotels with Tourism Development Corporation. This offer will be valid till 20th December. This facility will not be available from December 21 to January 5 due to Christmas and New Year.
Air quality affected by drought, very bad in Baddi
The effect of almost three months of drought and reduction in moisture in the state is being seen on the Air Quality Index (AQI) of some places. This is the first time that the air quality in Baddi, the industrial area of the state, was very poor for four days in December and was recorded from 302 to 342. The AQI in Shimla remained between 20 and 50 for five days, while the remaining days remained above 50.
During the past years, it remained less than 50 on most of the days in Shimla. Apart from Shimla, AQI levels in Manali, Dharamshala, Sundernagar, Damtal are better than last year. There was rain in the state in the beginning of October. Since then there has been no rainfall in November and December. The situation is similar till now in December also.
Doon's air is very bad
There is dense fog in the plain districts while frost and severe cold in the hilly areas have increased the problems. The increasing air pollution in Dehradun is making the situation more serious. Meteorological Center has issued a yellow alert regarding dense fog in the plains of Uttarakhand.
Due to dense fog, visibility is likely to be low in the morning and late night. The air quality in Doon also remains worse. AQI continues to remain near 300. On Thursday too, 280 was recorded, while on Wednesday it was recorded at 322. The air quality in Doon and surrounding areas has been continuously deteriorating since last one week.