Registration now mandatory for tourists visiting Mussoorie

Dehradun: The tourists visiting Mussoorie will now have to register their details on a portal developed by the Uttarakhand Tourism Department at the time of check-in, an official on Thursday said.

District Tourism Officer Brijendra Pandey said that the new rule came into force on Wednesday.

Hotels, guest houses, homestays and other such facilities have to first register themselves on the portal and do the registration of their guests as they check-in, he added.

Pandey said this is being done to deal with overcrowding and managing traffic at the popular tourist spot.

The new rule had to be introduced as the arrival of tourists in the town have almost doubled between 2022 and 2024, he added.

“The move will provide real-time data on tourist footfall in the town,” Pandey said.

Hoteliers and owners of similar facilities have been asked to comply with the new rule, he added.

The Uttarakhand Tourism Department will prepare a master plan focusing on crowd management at religious places and pilgrimage sites in the state, according to an official order.

The step has been taken in view of the recent stampede at the Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar that claimed nine lives.

An order to this effect was issued recently by Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu to the Tourism Secretary on the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami following the tragic incident.

On July 27, nine devotees were killed and 29 others were injured in the stampede which broke out in a narrow stairway leading to the Mansa Devi temple situated atop a hill in Haridwar.

CM Dhami who reached Haridwar immediately after the incident to take stock of the situation had asked officials to prepare a detailed master plan for the security of devotees visiting major religious places, crowd control, entry-exit system and other necessary facilities.

“A master plan will be made for all the pilgrimage sites for the safety and convenience of the pilgrims. The journey will be made more organized by developing public facilities around the pilgrimage sites,” Dhami had said.

The Tourism Secretary has been asked to initiate steps towards working out the master plan at the earliest. The master plan will especially include pilgrimage sites visited by a large number of pilgrims.