District Tourism Officer Brijendra Pandey stated that all accommodation providers, including hotels, guest houses, and homestays, must first register themselves on the portal and then upload details of their guests upon arrival. “The move will provide real-time data on tourist footfall in the town,” Pandey said. He noted that the measure has been introduced in response to a sharp rise in visitor numbers, with tourist arrivals in Mussoorie nearly doubling between 2022 and 2024.
The initiative is designed to aid in traffic management and prevent overcrowding in one of Uttarakhand’s most frequented hill stations. Hoteliers and proprietors of other lodging facilities have been directed to comply with the new requirement.
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The development follows a directive issued in May by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had instructed the state government to begin tourist registration in Mussoorie and submit data regularly, PTI reported.
In a parallel move aimed at enhancing safety across religious and pilgrimage sites, the Uttarakhand government has decided to formulate a comprehensive master plan. The decision comes in the aftermath of a deadly stampede at Haridwar’s Mansa Devi temple on July 27, where nine devotees lost their lives and 29 others were injured on a narrow stairway leading to the shrine.
Following the tragedy, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Haridwar and directed officials to prepare a robust safety framework for major pilgrimage destinations. “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 organised by developing public facilities around the pilgrimage sites,” Dhami said.
An official order to this effect was recently issued by the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary, RK Sudhanshu, instructing the Tourism Secretary to initiate work on the plan immediately. The blueprint will focus on sites that experience high footfall and will include critical measures such as crowd control systems, assessment of carrying capacity, separate entry and exit routes, emergency evacuation mechanisms, and provision of adequate waiting areas.
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Additional features of the proposed plan include the installation of clean drinking water facilities, public toilets, first aid centres, information and guidance kiosks, well-planned parking areas, and deployment of sufficient security personnel. The government has also ordered the removal of illegal encroachments along routes leading to religious sites.
Divisional Commissioners of both the Garhwal and Kumaon regions have been asked to assist in the drafting and execution of the master plan, which will aim to ensure both safety and improved pilgrimage experiences across the state.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
