CHIKKABALLAPUR: Local officials had a tough time controlling the crowds as about 8,000 people streamed past the gates to Nandi Hills on Sunday, the first weekend after the lockdown was completely lifted.
The hill station, about 60km from Bengaluru, is a goto spot, especially on weekends, for people not only from the state capital, but also other towns like Tumakuru and Chikkaballapur.
The hills were closed since April in the wake of the Covid-induced lockdown. It opened for visitors on June 21 but remained closed on Saturdays and Sunday due to weekend curfew.
Authorities at the hill station did throw open the gates on June 27, a Sunday, but promptly closed them as huge crowds gathered, throwing Covid-19 protocol to the wind.
The hills remained open for visitors on Saturday too, but there were not many visitors. Local officials attributed the poor numbers on Saturday to the hill station remaining closed on previous weekends.
However, tourists began arriving at 4 am on Sunday to catch a glimpse of the sunrise from the viewpoint on the hilltop. People from Bengaluru, Tumakuru and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh had booked rooms and suites, officials said. There were at least 3,000 vehicles and 8,000 visitors on the hilltop, they added.
Harish N, an advocate from Kolar, who stayed at the hills on Saturday night, said that all 40 rooms and cottages in both Gandhi Nilaya and Nehru Nilaya were booked. The guest houses attached to Bescom and the Tourism department were also full.
Harish said he and his colleagues had paid a staggering Rs 5,500 for each of the rooms. Previously, when the hills were under the control of the horticulture department, room rents were not so high, Harish said. The hill station is now under the purview of the tourism department.
Nandagopal, special officer, Nandi Hills, said many were fined for not wearing masks and not maintaining social distance, but he could not provide exact numbers.
