People in India are opting for false RT PCR report to travel hill stations as it saves time

India just like other countries has not completely removed restrictions on moving freely place to place. In-spite of this, tourist places in the country especially hill stations are marking record number of visitors and are neglecting precautions like staying away from overcrowded areas, wearing no masks and carrying fake RT PCR reports.

‘To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice’, an Indian family proved it right. According to the reports, a case is charged against whole family for carrying fake RT PCR reports while checking, in Mussoorie (hill station). While the whole family planned to visit Mussoorie, each member however carried false RT PCR reports and was caught. The checking in the area recently got strict after the visuals of mass were spotted in multiple hill stations with irresponsible behavior, in such sensitive times. Experts went on admitting that looking at these situations, definitely third wave will appear before the time it is speculated.

Mr. Dev Rawat holds the position of manager in a hotel in Mussoorie. He told EAT news, that since the lockdown has lifted up, they are witnessing shocking number of tourists as advance bookings have been started from few days ago. He said, ‘It is like pandemic is over and people are enjoying their freedom. We are providing hospitality and other facilities with necessary precautions keeping in mind.’  Mr. Rawat compared the situation during lockdown and lockdown 2.0. According to him, ‘Last year lockdown did affect the hotel and travel business badly. But the lockdown imposed during the second wave did not affected the business much. It suffered 40% less compare to the last year.’

Mr. Rawat is shared his encounter with one of the guests of his hotel and partly agreed with his outlook over the current situation. ‘I went to one of my guests for the feedback and he talked about the mental peace the whole group of friends attain, during their stay. Yes, hill stations are the first preference for most of the people to spend holidays but certain rules have to be followed in such rare situations’, he said. Mr. Rawat and his team taking reservations only with a condition of negative RT PCR reports and applauded state administration for making sure to take strict action against people who violate rules. ‘Definitely if situation won’t be under control and people will continuously neglect safety measures, third wave will come early and maybe for longer time which will affect everybody including us. We don’t want these circumstances to repeat itself every now and then’, said Dev Rawat.

Indian administration is already been criticized for taking late actions during such crucial times. The election rallies, campaigns, Haridwar Kumbh mela (grand religious gathering), where hundreds of people gathered and violated significant rules along with big personalities that set terrible examples for the people of the country. After visuals of people not wearing masks and gatherings got viral, overnight strict checking started in hill stations. And now, people who were about to travel and were opting for this method are either cancelling their plans or are delaying their journey. Niharika was planning to visit Nainital (hill station) for a weekend but cancelled her plan. She said, ‘I work, and since lockdown I am fed up sitting at home for three months straight. Me and my friends planned a short getaway to Nainital for weekend. We decided to arrange fake RT PCR reports to save time as it takes minimum 2 to 3 days to get results and it was a sudden plan. But after hearing news about strict checking everywhere, we decided to drop the idea and plan it properly, next month.

Asking about the must precautions people should keep in mind before travelling, she said, ‘To be honest we all know to what extent, the rules and strictness Indian authorities can imply. No doubt, corona report is one of the essential documents in these times but going through such procedure only for two days holidays sound time waste also now we could see the cases are going down and situation is getting better.’

This imprudent behavior by tourists is bothering people of Uttarakhand. Manish Negi lives in Chamba (town in Uttarakhand) and works as a shopkeeper. He said, ‘lockdown has not completely lifted up from our area due to the cases and now watching tourists that too in great numbers around worries me. Few days ago, watched six to seven jeeps in a day of tourists. It seemed like for them everything is normal now. Plus, many out of them were not even wearing masks and were reminded to wear them by locals.’ Recently, Manish lost one of his family members due to Covid and knows the struggle and condition of medical facilities in the town. He doesn’t others to get through the same pain and his actions are speaking lot. ‘I make sure to remind people about wearing masks and maintain social distance whenever I could around my neighborhood to keep the condition favorable. Some people do mind, but I don’t want to pay price for someone else’s irresponsible acts’, said Manish Negi.