SHIMLA : The District Administration Shimla has issued a set of guidelines for the tourists visiting Shimla during the winter season. Deputy Commissioner Amritsar Kamaldeep Singh Sangha appealed the tourists to follow these guidelines and adhere them. He added that in case of any eventuality, tourists can contact Shimla district administration at number 0177-2800880.

He said that as per the Shimla administration a number of tourists reach the city to spend winter holidays amidst snow, which also affect the day-to-day life.

The Shimla district administration faces challenges in the form of traffic snarls, road accidents, health facilities, paucity of enough rooms in hotels, power and water supply etc. In order to minimize all these bottlenecks, the Shimla district administration has sought support from Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana and has also issued a set of guidelines for the tourists to follow.

The guidelines that the tourists should get their rooms booked before coming to Shimla so that they do not face problem in getting a hotel or rest house room on the spot. Snow normally lasts for 3 to 4 days in Shimla. Besides this, it also snows in nearby areas including Kufri, Narkandan etc. Instead of reaching Shimla suddenly, the tourists can also visit nearby areas to minimize the crowd at Shimla. Once snowfall tapers off, one can also visit Shimla.

It is unsafe to drive during snowfall and accidents too happen. Tourists have been appealed to travel only during day time and not drive alone. Also one should have a trained driver behind wheels while visiting Shimla. To save themselves from biting cold, the tourists should have enough woolens, carry blankets, hot water, milk and not bring small children or elderly with them.

In event of snow, the vehicles should be parked on one side of road and its lights should be switched on. Due to non-conducive circumstances, if one has to halt journey, the vehicle should be switched on every ten minutes to keep its engine warm. While switching on the engine, its widows should be rolled down a little to prevent obnoxious carbon monoxide from getting collected inside the car, which can also cause death.