Dehradun: Beating Monday blues, Jatin Grover, a resident of New Delhi, is strolling with his family on the sprawling compound of Governor’s House in Nainital.
Monday is usually a busy day for Grover but as a blanket of smog covers Delhi, forcing schools to stay shut till Tuesday, he decided to take a break. “The spike in air pollution level in Delhi has made life miserable. For the time being, I am here to enjoy the fresh breeze,” Grover told News18.
Another tourist from Delhi, Parwinder, said he was in Nainital “because I couldn’t breathe in Delhi. I plan to extend my stay”.
November is usually a dull month for hoteliers but the sudden rise in pollution levels in Delhi-NCR has given the tourism industry in Uttarakhand a reason for cheer. Besides Nainital, adjoining Ramgarh, Mukteshwar and other small spots are buzzing with tourists, mostly from Ghaziabad, Delhi and Noida.
The queen of hills Mussoorie is also welcoming tourists. Local hotelier Chatar Singh Rawat says his hotel is ‘packed’ for now and he is flooded with phone calls from customers negotiating for rooms.
“Tourists are sharing how bad the situation has become in NCR. I have 75% advance bookings and I am expecting a good season in this usually dull month,” Rawat says.
Shagun, a tourist from Ghaziabad who is in Mussoorie for a holiday with her husband, says no one wants to stay in Delhi anymore. “Mussoorie’s air is so clean that my lungs are thanking me,” she says.
Mussoorie and Nainital account for over 500 registered hotels and home stays. With the onslaught of winters, the weather has become pleasant in Uttarakhand with Badrinath receiving the season’s first snowfall on Sunday.
(With inputs from Virendra Bisht and Sunil Silwal)
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