Viral video of tourist driving Thar across Himachal river sparks police action

(Image credit: Screengrab from video posted on X by @ANI)

A viral video showed a Mahindra Thar being driver across a river in Himachal Pradesh, promoting police action. Reports said the SUV was being driver by a tourist.

The video, shot from a higher altitude, showed the Thar being driver across a shallow stretch of the Chandra river to the riverbank on the other side. The incident took place in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh.
The police have issued a challan after the video emerged.

"Recently, a video went viral in which a Thar is crossing the river Chandra in District Lahaul Spiti. The said vehicle has been challenged under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and to ensure that no one commits such an offence in the future, the district police have deployed police personnel at the said place,” police officer Mayank Chaudhry was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Thousands of tourists thronged Himachal Pradesh during the long Christmas weekend, causing a traffic nightmare on the mountainous roads in the state. On Sunday, nearly 65,000 people in more than 12,000 vehicles crossed the Atal tunnel in Rohtang joining Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti.

The 9.2-kilometre Atal Tunnel is the world's highest single-tube tunnel above 10,000 feet. Rohtang received heavy snowfall on Saturday, prompting tourists to make a beeline for it. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, "We welcome the tourists who have come in such huge numbers, crossing over lakhs."

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)