Long weekend rush chokes Himachal, Uttarakhand roads with hours-long jams

A long weekend rush of tourists and pilgrims caused heavy congestion on the Shimla and Badrinath routes. The delays disrupted local movement and raised safety concerns on crowded hill roads.

In Short

• Holiday rush slowed normal Chandigarh-Shimla journeys by several extra hours
• Traffic personnel struggled to ease backlogs as vehicle numbers spiked sharply
• Essential service vehicles and local residents were also caught in congestion

A surge in tourists and pilgrims over the long weekend has triggered massive traffic jams on key routes in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, with vehicles stuck for several kilometres and travellers taking hours to cover relatively short distances.

In Himachal Pradesh, the Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway-5 witnessed heavy traffic on Friday as tourists headed towards popular hill destinations to make the most of the extended holiday.

The traffic surge came ahead of the weekend following the government holiday on October 2, with Saturday and Sunday providing an additional break for travellers.

CHANDIGARH-SHIMLA HIGHWAY SEES LONG QUEUES

Long queues of vehicles stretched for several kilometres on the Kalka-Shimla highway, with traffic moving at a slow pace for hours.

A journey that normally takes around three-and-a-half to four hours was taking several additional hours as the volume of vehicles on the highway rose sharply.

Visuals from the highway showed vehicles lined up as far as the eye could see, with motorists and passengers stuck in the congestion for prolonged periods.

Traffic personnel were deployed at several points to manage the situation, but the sheer number of vehicles on the road meant it was taking time for traffic to return to normal.

The congestion affected not only tourists but also local residents and vehicles involved in essential services.

BADRINATH ROUTE HIT BY 7-KM TRAFFIC JAM

In Uttarakhand, the road to Badrinath Dham and Hemkund Sahib also witnessed severe congestion as the number of pilgrims travelling through the region increased.

A traffic jam stretching around seven kilometres was reported between Joshimath and Marwari, with long queues of vehicles forming from the Zero Band area of Joshimath towards Marwari.

Vehicles were seen crawling along the route, with pilgrims reportedly taking anywhere between one and three hours to cover the roughly seven-kilometre stretch.

The congestion also raised safety concerns, with some vehicles moving towards the edge of the road amid the traffic buildup, increasing the risk of an accident.

Visuals from the route showed several kilometres of vehicles packed along the road. Traffic would move for a few minutes before coming to a halt again, leaving passengers stranded for extended periods.

The route had also witnessed traffic problems during the monsoon, and congestion has resurfaced during the final phase of the pilgrimage season.

The Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage is currently in its final phase, while the ongoing Pitru Paksha period has also kept the flow of devotees to Badrinath Dham steady.

With tourist and pilgrim traffic increasing during the long weekend, the pressure on roads in both states has left travellers and local residents facing prolonged delays.

- Ends
With inputs from Rajesh Sharma and Kamal Nayan Silori