Long weekend travel rush causes severe traffic jams in Himachal and Uttarakhand

A surge of tourists and pilgrims over the long weekend led to massive traffic congestion on key routes across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand following the government holiday on October 2.

The Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway-5 experienced heavy queues where a standard three-and-a-half to four-hour journey took several additional hours to complete.

In Uttarakhand, a seven-kilometre traffic jam formed between Joshimath and Marwari on the route to Badrinath Dham and Hemkund Sahib, leaving pilgrims stranded for hours.