‘Destroying our hills’: Manali traffic jam during long weekend sparks debate online

Videos showing the heavy traffic soon surfaced on social media, giving a glimpse of the congestion.

Watch the video:

#WATCH | Manali, Himachal Pradesh: A huge crowd of tourists has flocked to Manali due to the long weekend. Traffic congestion is also being witnessed in the area. (02.10) pic.twitter.com/nZfINsOwKK

— ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2026

The scenes prompted a debate online, with several users questioning the growing dependence on private vehicles while travelling to the hills.

“Escape from work to enjoy weekend traffic jam and back to work. Also our govt. makes sure you don’t get enough public transport to limit cars on roads,” one user wrote.

Another commented, “Coping mechanism of Delhi NCR folks, it’s just destroying our hills.”

Suggesting a possible solution, a user wrote, “To protect mountain destinations, we should build parking hubs in low-lying areas and restrict out-of-state private vehicles from driving up. Only local taxis and state buses should be permitted to transport tourists. It will reduce traffic and create jobs.”

Another comment read, “That’s modern insanity and reflects inability to resist peer pressure of not driving to a destination. Serious thought needs to be put, collectively. Is that required?”