Tourists troubled by pollution are heading to Himachal’s hill stations, 7 thousand vehicles reached Shimla

Shimla, November 10: The increased level of air pollution after Diwali in Delhi and neighboring states has become a problem for the people. Tourists from outside states are heading to Himachal’s hill stations to breathe in the open air. This weekend, there is a rush of tourists in the state’s major hill stations Shimla, Manali, Kullu, Kasauli, Dalhousie and Dharamshala. Tourists are also heading to tribal districts Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti.

A sudden increase in the number of tourists is being recorded in these tourist places. At present, about 60 percent of the hotels in Kullu, Manali and Shimla are filled with tourists. Whereas before Diwali the occupancy of the hotels was 20 percent. A large number of tourists have been roaming around Shimla’s historic Ridge Maidan and Mall Road since Saturday. Tourists are also reaching Kufri and Narkanda, tourist places adjacent to Shimla.

A family that reached Shimla from Delhi said that it was becoming difficult to breathe due to pollution from firecrackers and vehicles in the plains including Delhi. In such a situation, they have come to Shimla to breathe in the open air and will spend a few days here.

Seven thousand vehicles entered Shimla

According to Shimla Police, about seven thousand vehicles entered Shimla city from 12 noon to 12 midnight on Saturday. Most of these were vehicles from outside states.

Gajendra Thakur, President of Federation of Himachal Hotel and Restaurant Association, said that tourists are reaching the tourist places of Himachal to get relief from the increased pollution in the plains. The occupancy in hotels has increased due to the arrival of tourists on this weekend. The crowd of tourists is expected to remain throughout the month of November.

Shimla’s air is clean, AQI remained 66 after Diwali

Pollution level has improved after Diwali in the hill stations of Himachal Pradesh. Talking about Shimla, the air here is cleaner than other cities. Manali and Dharamshala had more pollution than Shimla. While the air quality index of Shimla was 66, it reached 80 in Manali and 109 in Dharamshala.

The good thing is that less pollution was recorded in Shimla than last year. Shimla’s air quality index has improved a lot. Last year after Diwali, the air quality index in Shimla was 78, which decreased to 66 this year. Whereas the air index in Manali was 55 last year, which reached 80 this time. However, it is in the satisfactory category.