Maharashtra: Monsoon destinations a big draw over weekend

PUNE: Taking advantage of a long weekend, a large number of visitors from Pune and adjoining areas have flocked to popular monsoon destinations like Lonavala, Malshej and places in Maval, Velhe and Junnar, apart from Mahabaleshwar, Konkan and Goa.
Officials from the Pune rural police and forest department said people have started arriving at these places from Thursday evening. They expect huge crowds in the next three days, from August 13.
A senior official from the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) said all their facilities have been booked in advance. "Over 90% of our facilities in Lonavala (Karla), Panshet and Malshej, among others, have registered bookings," he said.
Even owners of private hotels, farmhouses, bungalows and lodges said they have over 80% advance bookings for the weekend. Sandesh Sukale, a hotel manager in Lonavala, said, “Our hotel, which has 70 rooms, is booked for the next three days. We stopped taking bookings and kept some rooms for emergencies.” “The rates for the weekends are almost double. Yet, our bookings for three days are full,” said a caretaker of a private bungalow.
As there is no rainfall alert in ghats of the district, a rise in visitors on trekking routes is expected, said forest and police officials. Some popular routes are Aatkarwadi to Sinhagad, Tamhini in Mulshi, Rajmachi in Lonavala, Balware to Padarwadi and Bhimashankar in Ambegaon, Lohagad, Visapur, Tikona, Tungi, Korigad and Tailabaila forts in Maval, Jeevdhan in Junnar, Rajgad and Torna and around the Panshet dam, Madheghat in Velhe, Raireshwar in Bhor
Apart from extra manpower, the rural police have formed patrols to visit popular spots around Lonavala and keep a watch on revellers. Lata Phad, superintendent of police, State Highway Safety Patrol, said, “Our diversion plan is ready to handle traffic on the highways.”
Range forest officer Ajit Shinde of Junnar said, “Groups of villagers and rescue teams have been kept ready at locations where visitors go in large numbers.”