Haldwani, Oct. 5 -- A three-day weekend coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti brought thousands of tourists and devotees to Nainital, Bhowali, Bhimtal and other popular hill destinations in Kumaon, leading to heavy traffic on routes from Haldwani to the hills. However, a one-way traffic plan implemented by police helped ease congestion on Sunday, officials said. October 2 was a holiday for Gandhi Jayanti, followed by the weekend on October 3 and 4. The extended break prompted a large number of tourists and devotees to head towards the Kumaon hills. The biggest rush was witnessed at Baba Neem Karoli Maharaj's Kainchi Dham Ashram in Bhowali, where more than 1 lakh devotees visited between Friday and Sunday. The heavy tourist movement led to prolonged traffic jams on the Haldwani-hills route on Friday and Saturday and also resulted in scuffles among some tourists at Kainchi Dham. In response, police introduced a new traffic plan from Saturday evening to regulate vehicle movement. Nainital SP (Traffic) Dr Jagdish Chandra said the entire police force was deployed at key points on Sunday to manage the traffic. The deployment included the SP (City), Haldwani, SP (Communications), circle officers, station house officers, traffic inspectors from Haldwani and Nainital, the City Patrol Unit, outpost and office in-charges and personnel from the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC). "To manage the rush at Kainchi Dham, shuttle services were operated from Bhowali. Around 35,000 devotees visited the temple on Sunday, while the continuous movement of people leaving the shrine helped prevent excessive crowding," Chandra said. Traffic coming from Almora and Garampani was diverted through the Khairna-Khawarab-Talla Ramgarh-Bhowali Crossing route. Police said the diversion and shuttle arrangements helped prevent major traffic jams and crowd-related incidents. Under the one-way system, traffic towards Nainital was regulated for around three hours after 5.30 pm on Saturday, while vehicles were allowed to move downhill from the Bhimtal T-junction to clear congestion. On Sunday, traffic from Haldwani-Kathgodam towards the hills was regulated between 4 pm and 10 pm. Vehicles heading towards Nainital, Bhimtal and Bhowali were stopped for nearly six hours at the Hydel T-junction, Nariman T-junction and Kathgodam police station, with priority given to vehicles exiting the hill areas. After 4 pm, vehicles heading towards Nainital were diverted through Kaladhungi. Vehicles travelling towards or from Rudrapur, Bajpur, Ramnagar, Kashipur and Mukhani were routed through the Mukhani-Fatehpur-Patwadangar road. Police personnel remained deployed at key locations throughout the day and continuously monitored traffic movement to prevent further congestion, officials said....