Increase in tourist arrival from 13 lakh people to 32 lakh people in a decade is a good sign for growing tourism industry of Kullu valley, but on the other hand infrastructure development has failed to match rise in tourist footfalls and now a condition has arisen where the tourist town of Manali has almost knelt down before the increasing burden of tourists and vehicles.

Manali seems to have failed in holding the rush of over 30,000 tourists and over 4.000 extra vehicles, besides thousands of local vehicles. The congested streets and roads of this small town are jammed with vehicles and tourist crowd. Government has plans to promote tourism, but has no fruitful plan to improve infrastructure in the town.

As a result, vehicles take over one hour to cover a distance of one kilometer within the town. The conditions worsen during evening hours when all tourists converge in the town for shopping. Sources at green tax barrier, the gateway to Manali, said over 900 tourist vehicles are entering Manali every day as per a TOI report.

Every year during summers, local residents have to face traffic jams, parking problems, blocking of sewerage lines, pollution and water scarcity. Residents have been parking their cars on the national highway, which is again leading to traffic jams. Similar is the condition on Manali-Rohtang highway, Vashisht, Hadimba Temple and other tourist spots around Manali.

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