Landslide blocks Manali NH for 9 hours

pender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, February 13

The Chandigarh-Manali highway, which was blocked this morning due to a massive landslide at Aut in Mandi district, has been restored after 9 hours. The landslide took place around 6 am at Banala Shani Temple as big boulders fell on the road, blocking the traffic on the route.

Long queues of vehicles could be seen on both sides of the highway since morning. Policemen were deployed to divert the traffic via Katola between Mandi and Kullu. The road, which was opened around 3:30 pm, is fit only for the movement of light vehicles.

A JCB machine of the National Highways Authority of India also got stuck in debris but no loss of life was reported. Several buses and heavy vehicles had been stranded on the highway as the alternative route was not fit for heavy vehicles.

Naresh Kumar of Delhi, who was travelling along with his friends to Manali, said it wasted their day. The couples travelling with children were a harassed lot as there was no facility of toilets or eatery nearby.