Pune: With the Christmas and New Year holidays underway, citizens from the city have been leaving for various tourist destinations. Tourists from Mumbai and the surrounding areas are particularly eager to visit tourist spots like Lonavala and Khandala. These places become even more attractive during the pleasant December weather. As a result, the number of tourists in this area has increased significantly.
Which points are closed?
Controlling this increasing crowd of tourists is proving difficult for the administration. Therefore, the administration has now taken an important decision. For the past few days, long queues of vehicles have been seen on the Mumbai-Pune highway.
Against this backdrop, the Forest Department has announced a ban on two popular tourist spots in Lonavala. Lions Point and Tiger Point will be closed to tourists for two days, December 31st and January 1st. This has created a major obstacle for many tourists' New Year plans.
Rules for traffic congestion
Meanwhile, long queues of vehicles have been seen on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway since yesterday. To control the traffic, the highway police have implemented new rules. Heavy vehicles have been temporarily banned on some routes, and one route was completely closed yesterday. Tourists heading towards Lonavala and Khandala were stuck in traffic jams for hours. The situation is expected to worsen further by December 31st.
This year, the Christmas, weekend, and New Year holidays have fallen consecutively. As a result, since Thursday, a large number of tourists from Pune, Mumbai, and the entire state have been seen heading towards Lonavala. This place is the most popular destination near the city during the winter season. Consequently, all the renowned hotels, resorts, and private bungalows in the area are fully booked.
Major tourist destinations like Bhushi Dam, Tiger Point, Rajmachi Garden, Duke's Nose, and the Karla and Bhaje caves are witnessing a huge influx of tourists. Special events have been organised at many places for New Year's Eve, and the police have announced these rules to maintain order.
