In May we watched with abject horror as the country plunged into a deep health crisis. People were dying by the numbers, children losing both parents, parents losing more than one child, men and women left shattered and alone as people struggled to breathe, gasping for a bit of oxygen. But all this has since been forgotten in India. Travel has taken centre-stage once again, and dangerously so. Case in point, Asheri Fort in Maharashtra.
A video circulated online showing a massive crowd of people at the Asheri Fort in Palghar. The crowd of people jostling for space has come as a rude shock to state governments trying to end the second wave. While on one hand we are already fearing the possibility of a third wave, an image such as this only reinforces that fear.
Over 250 tourists were booked by the Kasa police for overcrowding at the Asheri Fort in #Palghar.
On Saturday and Sunday, thousands of tourists, including trekkers visited the fort located on the hills near Mendhavan Khind on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. pic.twitter.com/E8SsqRB8yi
— TOI Mumbai (@TOIMumbai) June 22, 2021
Asheri Fort is one of the famous forts in the state of Maharashtra, which is undoubtedly a crowd puller. If the sea of humans is not shocking enough, there are then the maskless faces waiting to move forward in the overcrowded queue. To be very honest, this does not even look like a lot of fun, then what is the use of being so careless?
Palgarh district had recently opened up for tourism, but such a scene was surely unexpected. It has been reported that more than 200 tourists have now been booked.
Opening up of tourist attractions certainly attracts people, but such mindlessness can be dangerous. During such a time, the only queue we should be standing in is for vaccinations, and that too at a safe distance from others, with mask on, and hand sanitizer readily available.