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As the popular hill station of Manali is crammed with heavy traffic, electricity cuts, and other problems, hundreds of tourists have flocked to the destination. A travel enthusiast attributed the situation to the influence of Instagram reels
The roads leading to Himachal Pradesh’s tourist hotspot, Manali, are crammed with vehicles stuck in massive traffic congestion stretching for nearly 20 kilometres. Lured by fresh snowfall, hundreds flocked to the hill station; however, their dream trip soon turned into a nightmare.
Heavy snowfall has led to severe traffic bottlenecks, power outages, road blockages, and large-scale stranding of tourists and local residents.
‘Ban Instagram reels and half the crowd will vanish’
Reacting to the situation in Manali, a social media user who goes by the name Rattan Dhillon, and describes himself as an off-road enthusiast, asserted that “banning Instagram reels” would make half of the stranded crowd disappear.
He said that earlier, people were cautious about travelling in such extreme weather conditions, but now everyone wants to “be part of it”, completely ignoring the risks and even the potential damage to their vehicles.
“This is pure FOMO syndrome in India,” he said.
He attributed the issue to the influence of Instagram media reels. “The fear of missing out or the ‘we were there’ mindset is pushing people to take unnecessary risks, forgetting basic safety and common sense. Honestly, if India bans Instagram reels, at least 50 per cent of this crowd will vanish,” he added.
‘Long weekends are an IQ test’
Echoing similar sentiments, another social media user, Sumit Behal, quipped, “The long weekend is an IQ test in India.”
“The smartest people plan their vacations on long weekends to the most common tourist destinations in India.
The same set of people then get shocked by traffic jams, expensive hotels, and crowds. The long weekend is an IQ test in India,” he wrote.
Tourists, locals describe harsh conditions
A tourist from Delhi told news agency ANI, “The roads are blocked, and it is extremely cold.”
Local resident Alam said, “The snow has accumulated up to two to two-and-a-half feet, and the temperature has dropped to minus 10 degrees. We are taking support from bonfires. There are electricity cuts, and the water in the taps has frozen.”
Fresh snowfall warning
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a fresh spell of rainfall and snowfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds, over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh on January 26 and 27.
On Sunday, the IMD warned of a fresh western disturbance in Himachal Pradesh, even as cold wave conditions continued to prevail in several parts of the state.
Cold day conditions were observed in Manali, Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur, while cold wave conditions prevailed at isolated places in the Una and Bilaspur districts.
(With inputs from news agency)
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