COIMBATORE: Tourists flocked to hill destinations like Ooty and Coonoor in the Nilgiris district and Valparai in Coimbatore district as the extended weekend started on Friday. The road from Aliyar checkpost to Valparai was completely lined with vehicles, and traffic movement was stalled for hours due to an influx of tourists. A similar situation was reported in the Nilgiris district too.Buses were unable to operate on schedule, causing hardship to passengers. On Friday afternoon, people waited for hours at the Saibaba Colony bus stand here to board buses to the Nilgiris. Passengers highlighted that the transport corporations had not provided adequate bus services despite knowing that this was a long weekend and people would be going to their hometowns.Samuel, a taxi driver from Mettupalayam, said, “I dropped a family from Erode at Ooty. There was so much traffic. Many people flocked to Ooty. Though places like the Pykara Falls didn’t have much water, people still rushed to those spots.”Meanwhile, 24 tourists were stung by bees in Coonoor’s Sims Park. According to sources, a beehive in the park was disturbed by an eagle, and bees stung 24 people, including 10 children. They were taken to govt hospital. The injured include tourists from Maharashtra, Chennai, Tirupur and Erode.
