SHIMLA: Anticipating a slamming summer tourist season in June, the Shimla Hotels and Tourism Stakeholders Association (SHTSHA) is raising the roof for seamless traffic management in the capital city.
Traffic management in peak June summer season right from Shoghi through Railways Crossing, Victory Tunnel, Lakkar Bazar, ISBT, HP Tourism Lift and Parking Complex Khalini, New Shimla, Sanjauli Chowk and Dhalli Chowk to Hassan Valley and Kufri is a big challenge for the traffic cop.
Most of the suffers are people traveling from Shimla to the upper areas as they got stuck in traffic jams for hours wasting their valuable time.
President of SHTSHA, Mohinder Seth, said all stakeholders - police, local admin, hoteliers, tourism squads, Shimla municipal corporations - should come on board for slick traffic control to make sure tourists roll into Shimla without a hitch.
Seth mentioned the one-minute traffic jam fix-up by Shimla SP Sanjeev Gandhi, which worked good as it was being operated as per the traffic situation on the road after a solid road survey.
SP himself monitored the traffic flow himself both from office and home and worked well as cops hold and release traffic as per situation on the roads.
But even though it was a good experiment, they pulled the plug, leading to bumper-to-bumper traffic even when tourists are as scarce as hen's teeth.
With high hopes for packed hotels come June post Lok Sabha elections and school break, Seth's calling on the district honchos and police brass to hustle up and tackle the traffic beast head-on.
He's all for copying Chandigarh's traffic game plan with traffic lights from Shoghi barrier onwards.
What's more, Seth's hollering about roping in all the bigwigs, like hotel owners and tour guides from Shimla's outskirts, to crack this nut once and for all.
Idea is to manage the traffic hotspots and bottle necks and tamping the local bus walas and taxi operators who are there creating traffic mess.
It has been observed the private bus operators do not stop at the proper bus stops or parking bays or the wider road stretches on the troublesome Circular Road that carries most of the traffic burden in the capital city.
He's got this sweet idea of nudging guests booked outside the city center to swerve past the traffic mess.
And let's not forget about snagging some extra parking spots and throwing down some fun events, courtesy of the Tourism squad and the local crew.
With Shimla's top-notch weather and tourists looking to chill, Seth's all about making sure they have a blast without getting stuck in traffic.
