Himachal Pradesh Police on Monday cracked down on an SUV owner for allegedly driving his vehicle across the Chandra River in Lahaul and Spiti district. The video of the SUV being driven in the river, possibly in an attempt to beat the massive traffic congestion, went viral on social media.

Tourists have been thronging to the hill station to celebrate Christmas and New Year, causing a major traffic nightmare in the state. Amid the rush, a Mahindra Thar owner opted for an ingenious way to ditch the traffic snarls and drove his SUV across the river.

The water level of the Chandra River was not too deep which allowed the SUV to cross it without much difficulty. However, the episode didn’t sit well with the locals after the video started doing the rounds.

Taking note of the video, the police issued a challan to the driver. “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,” Mayank Chaudhry, superintendent of police, said.

Meanwhile, Roads connecting several tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh are grappling with severe traffic congestion after a huge number of tourists started to arrive in the state to celebrate Christmas and New Year. The police in the Lahaul and Spiti district carried out drone surveillance to keep an eye on the traffic situation in the region, and the video clip shows trails of vehicles chocking the roads leaving no space for parking facilities.

Amid the traffic chaos, several people indulged in risky car stunts causing a nuisance. A video of a man driving his car with its doors open went viral on social media. The driver was seen precariously hanging from one of the doors. The police in Kullu took cognisance of the video and charged a ₹3,500 fine.