Thousands of tourists are seen visiting hill stations, as daily covid cases have seen a drop and slowly borders are opening.
Referring to the huge crowd of visitors arriving at the hill stations, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that covid restrictions can be reimposed if Covid protocols are not observed. People travelling to hill stations are not following Covid-appropriate behaviour, Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said at a press conference adding that gross violations of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour can nullify the gains so far.
"We can nullify the ease in restrictions again if protocols not complied with," he said.
Pictures from the hill stations are frightening, said ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava, urging people to comply with Covid-appropriate behaviour.
Due to relaxation in Covid curbs and Delhi’s heatwave, thousands have travelled to hill stations like Shimla and Manali in Himachal Pradesh.
Images of tourist places that are overcrowded have gone viral on social media. Users have slammed those tourists for violating covid rules while travelling and some said predicted that if people continue to remain so ignorant then the third wave is not far.
“Pictures (from hill stations) are frightening. People must comply with COVID-appropriate behaviour,” said Dr Balram Bhargava.
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Further, Lav Agarwal added that the second wave is still prevalent in some areas in a limited way.
Amid this huge tourists footfall, the Union Health Ministry in a letter to the Himachal Pradesh government has shown concern over the rampant flouting of COVID appropriate behaviour in Shimla and Manali.
According to reports, in not less than a month beginning from June, Himachal Pradesh has observed traffic of about 6-7 lakh tourists. After the decline in Covid cases, tourists began thronging to the destinations like Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, and Narkanda.
Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department Director Amit Kashyap said that there has been a massive inflow of tourists after the government had lifted Covid restrictions. "Generally, we receive over 1.3 crore tourists but the pandemic since last year hit the tourism business," he said.
"As the weather conditions are pleasant here and the monsoon is delayed, people will continue to come. We have developed SOPs for tourists. Meetings were held with the hotel operators, tourism and travel associations. Tourism is a major source of income for the state's economy and we are trying to revive this business. It is being ensured that the protocol is being followed," Kashyap informed.
Also Read: Viral Video: Little boy scolds people for not wearing mask on crowded streets of Dharamshala
Experts have cautioned that a third wave of the pandemic may hit the country very soon, which is expected to affect children. SBI research in a report has said that the third wave is likely to hit India by mid-August and cases may peak during September.