Full Breakdown
Traffic Jams Paralyze Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand During Gandhi Jayanti Long Weekend
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: Widespread Congestion on Hill Routes and Pilgrimage Roads
The three-day Gandhi Jayanti holiday—October 2 and the following weekend—brought a massive influx of tourists and pilgrims into Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Vehicles queued for kilometres on the Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway-5, the Manali-Solang-Atal Tunnel corridor, and the Badrinath National Highway. Journeys that normally take three-and-a-half to four hours stretched into “several additional hours,” and a seven-kilometre jam was reported between Joshimath and Marwari on the route to Badrinath Dham.
Background & Context
The long weekend coincided with the second phase of the Char Dham Yatra and ongoing Pitru Paksha rituals. Hill stations such as Manali, Shimla, Mussoorie and Dharamshala traditionally attract domestic tourists seeking a brief escape, a pattern amplified by limited weekday leave.
Data & Statistics
- Hotel occupancy: Mussoorie hotels were about 90 % full; Himachal’s major tourist centres reported 60-80 % occupancy.
- Jam length: A seven-kilometre traffic jam stretched between Joshimath and Marwari on the Badrinath route.
- Travel time: The Kalka-Shimla stretch, normally a 3.5-4-hour drive, took “several additional hours.”
- Vehicle queues: Long queues formed at the entrance to Manali, along Mall Road, Solang Nullah and the Atal Tunnel; similar buildups appeared on the Mussoorie-Dehradun road and the route to Kempty Fall.
Official Statements & Responses
State and local authorities deployed traffic personnel along the congested corridors. Superintendent of Police Kulbhushan Verma noted that additional police were stationed at intervals of 100-150 metres in McLeod Janj, Dharamkot and Bhagsu, and a Quick Reaction Team was placed in McLeod Janj to handle emergencies. Police in Rudraprayag reported a sharp rise in Kedarnath pilgrims, prompting shuttle-service queues.
The administration claimed that arrangements for the second phase of the Char Dham Yatra had been “streamlined,” yet on-ground reports highlighted insufficient road widening—particularly between Joshimath and Marwari—making traffic regulation difficult.
On-the-Ground Reports
Tourists described the situation as “snail-pace” traffic and difficulty finding parking. One visitor from Delhi, Ashok, said:
> “We came for a two-day visit to Shimla, but traffic moves at a snail’s pace and getting parking is not easy.”
Visuals shared by news agency ANI showed kilometres of stationary vehicles on mountain roads, with some motorists stranded for hours despite the short distances involved.
Why It Matters / Impact
The congestion affected leisure travellers, local residents and essential-service vehicles, raising safety concerns as some cars edged close to road margins. Repeated bottlenecks during peak pilgrimage periods underscore the fragility of narrow mountain infrastructure and the need for systematic traffic-management solutions, such as designated parking hubs and increased reliance on public transport.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
While the administration asserted that Char Dham arrangements were streamlined, multiple on-site accounts and police statements described persistent bottlenecks and inadequate road widening. No detailed data on the number of vehicles involved or the exact duration of delays were provided, leaving a gap in quantitative assessment of the weekend’s impact.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We had requested the state government to constitute and deploy tourist protection police on stretches where traffic jams are frequent for the convenience of tourists as well as locals,” — Saturday. Gajender Thakur, president of the Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurant Association (FOHHRA)
- “We came for a two-day visit to Shimla, but traffic moves at a snail’s pace and getting parking is not easy,” — Ashok