Dehradun: Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan held a meeting with officials regarding improvement in infrastructure and facilities in Mussoorie at the Secretariat on Thursday. During the meeting, the Chief Secretary discussed various topics like road connectivity, traffic congestion and development of civic amenities.
The Chief Secretary said that the Urban Development Department will be the nodal department for the development of infrastructure and facilities in Mussoorie. He said that traffic congestion is becoming a big problem for Mussoorie. He said that it is necessary to improve other alternative routes to reduce the problem of traffic congestion in Mussoorie. He also stressed on strict enforcement of the traffic plan for Mussoorie by the RTO and the police. He directed to carry out widening and improvement works of Jhadipani Road, Camel’s Back Road, Landour and Khattapani Road. He said that the Nagar Palika will be provided funding by the government for the improvement works of these roads. He also talked about preparing an internal connectivity plan for Mussoorie. He said that a survey should be conducted on ropeway development for internal connectivity. He directed to restart the golf carts which were previously operational to reduce traffic pressure on Mussoorie’s Mall Road and to provide internal transport facilities to local citizens and tourists.
The Chief Secretary also directed to identify and develop new destinations in Mussoorie. He said that a plan should be prepared for the development of areas like Jhadipani Falls, Shikhar Falls, Mossy Falls etc. He also talked about developing trek routes around the Mussoorie area. He said that there is an urgent need to develop other tourist destinations in the Mussoorie area. For this, new destinations should be constantly searched for. He directed to prepare a list of such destinations which can be developed as tourist destinations. The Chief Secretary said that in view of the increasing traffic pressure in Mussoorie, new parking spaces should also be identified in the area. He said that special care should be taken that the construction of parking spaces neither affects the beauty of the area nor obstructs the view. He also directed that the operation of King Craig parking should be started soon.
The Chief Secretary also talked about installing solar street lights in between the street lights in Mussoorie city. He said that this will ensure availability of light on the roads even in the event of power failure. He also directed that the eco-toll tax on the Mussoorie road should be taken through Fastag.
Principal Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary Nitesh Kumar Jha, Sachin Kurve, Dr. Pankaj Kumar Pandey and Dehradun District Magistrate Savin Bansal along with other senior officials were present on this occasion.
