Shimla, June 23 -- Kullu MLA Sunder Singh Thakur on Monday sought a carrying capacity study to handle the over-tourism issue in Parvati Valley. The magnitude of the tourist inflow can be calculated from the fact that daily, more than 3,000 vehicles, apart from luxury buses, are entering the town leading to long queues and highlighting the need to develop infrastructure to support the quantum of inflow. "Considering the growing number of tourists visiting internationally renowned destinations such as Manikaran and Kasol in Parvati Valley, it is essential to conduct a scientific assessment of the valley's carrying capacity," Sunder Singh Thakur said. He suggested engaging a professional agency or expert team to undertake a comprehensive study so that issues arising from over-tourism can be identified and addressed in a timely manner, ensuring sustainable tourism development. He was chairing a meeting of local area development authority held on Monday to discuss tourism development, traffic management, sanitation and infrastructure enhancement in Parvati Valley. This comes weeks after the district administration flagged the issue for safety audit of Atal Tunnel as well owing to influx of tourists and traffic. The tunnel, that was built for a load of 4,500 vehicles per day, is seeing a daily traffic of 11,000 vehicles - thus forcing the district authorities to push for a safety audit of the tunnel. "He emphasised that the rapid increase in tourist arrivals in Parvati Valley has made the expansion of basic infrastructure a necessity stressing on the need to prioritise street lighting and sewerage facilities." It was agreed to provide funds for the development of a park on tourism department land in Manikaran. In addition, directions were issued to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the development of sewerage infrastructure in Kasol and Manikaran and to explore the feasibility of its implementation. Talking about the issue of cleanliness and environmental conservation, stress was laid on the need to strengthen waste management systems and create greater public awareness regarding waste segregation. Representatives of all departments and public bodies present at the meeting resolved to work collectively to keep Parvati Valley clean, organised and environmentally sustainable. Reiterating that maintaining a balance between tourism growth, environmental conservation and local development is the need of the hour, Thakur said, "To achieve this objective, various departments were directed to work in close coordination to strengthen infrastructure and expand public amenities across the region." He directed National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) officials to deposit dues payable under LADA at earliest so that development works in the region could be accelerated. He also directed NHPC officials to undertake repairs on Manikaran-Barshaini road and ensure timely removal of debris along the route. He noted that since the land associated with the road is registered in NHPC's name, the process of transferring it to the public works department should be initiated to facilitate adequate funding for maintenance and upgradation....