WATCH: Tourist rides Mahindra Thar through river in Lahaul to skip Himachal traffic; Gets a Challan

In a video doing the rounds on social media, a man can be seen driving a Mahindra Thar SUV through the Chandra river in the Lahaul Valley. Since the water level was low, he had no problem driving through the river and dodging traffic.

Viral video: At a time when tourism in Himachal Pradesh is at its peak and videos of long traffic jams have emerged from the hilly region, someone took his Mahindra Thar through a shallow riverbed, ostensibly to avoid the massive traffic jams. In a video, which has now gone viral on social media, a tourist was seen driving his SUV through the Chandra River in the Lahaul Valley. The water level of the river was not too high, allowing the SUV to cross it without much difficulty. However, the episode did not go down well with locals after the video started doing the rounds.

The police took note of the video and issued a challan to the driver. Superintendent of Police Mayank Chaudhry confirmed that the vehicle involved has been charged under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Moreover, the district police have stationed personnel at the said location to prevent similar offenses in the future. “Recently, a video of a Thar crossing the Chandra river in Lahaul Spiti district went viral. The said vehicle has been booked under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and to ensure that no one commits such an offense in future, the district police have deployed police personnel at the said place,” he said.

tourist driver mahindra thar through the river in Himachal Pradesh to beat the traffic jam during Christmas festival 🎄.. #mahindrathar #Himachal Pradesh pic.twitter.com/AQsLjHXcwM

— (@shubham46720161) December 26, 2023

For Himachal, overcrowding by tourists is an annual phenomenon around this time of the year. Every year, the areas of Manali, Kasol and Banjar/Tirthan Valley expect a significant influx of vehicles, with tourists flocking to holiday destinations to celebrate a ‘White Christmas’. This year too, Manali and Shimla are attracting many visitors. Thousands of tourists flocked to Himachal Pradesh over the Christmas weekend, with the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang becoming a top destination besides Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti.

In fact, around 55,000 vehicles passed through the Atal Tunnel in the last three days. While this increase benefits the hospitality sector, it has also created challenges on an administrative level.