Dalhousie: To escape the scorching heat of the plains, a large number of tourists are thronging Dalhousie and its adjoining Khajjiar and Kalatop hill stations. But in the absence of proper parking lots, they park their vehicles in a haphazard manner on the roadside leading to frequent traffic jams.

Dalhousie: To escape the scorching heat of the plains, a large number of tourists are thronging Dalhousie and its adjoining Khajjiar and Kalatop hill stations. But in the absence of proper parking lots, they park their vehicles in a haphazard manner on the roadside leading to frequent traffic jams. “Though Dalhousie, Khajjiar and Kalatop receive tourists round the year, the season is at its peak during the summers and on Christmas when tourists come to witness snowfall,” said Vikas Dutta, manager, HPTDC Deodar Hotel, Khajjiar.

Tourists said the Chamba and the Dalhousie administration should focus on creating more parking spaces. They also demanded posting of adequate police personnel at all picnic spots for regulating traffic movement. The frequent traffic jams are due to the lack of parking lots, they said. “Taking into account the increase in tourist flow to Dalhousie and Khajjiar, the district police are making efforts for the smooth regulation of traffic to avoid jams,” the police said. Chamba Deputy Commissioner Sudesh Mokhta said though the administration as well as hoteliers had created parking lots, it was not enough to cater to the heavy tourist inflow. “For this, plans are under way to create more parking lots,” he added.