15 labourers rescued from Shinku La after blizzard

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, October 15

Fifteen labourers coming from Zanskar to Manali were rescued from the 16,580-feet high Shinku La after a snow blizzard blocked the road last night. They were travelling in a vehicle (HP-01-7377) and were stuck in the pass throughout the night. The Darcha police post received information about the incident in the wee hours today and rescued them. They belong to Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal and work in Zanskar. They were returning to their native places due to the onset of winter.

Meanwhile, Lahaul and Spiti SP Mayank Chaudhary urged people not to cross passes during bad weather and travel only after obtaining information about the weather conditions.

Twenty vehicles, most of these of tourists, coming from Leh towards Manali were stuck at Sarchu due to snowfall at Baralacha La yesterday. They reached Sarchu in the afternoon but had to stop there due to snowfall at Baralacha La. At present, three dhabas at Sarchu are the only support for passersby and tourists. The transit camp of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is also providing help to the travellers but now due to changing weather conditions, travelling on this route has become risky, heavy snowfall can occur anytime now.

Baralacha La, Shinku La and Kunzum and Rohtang passes have received six to eight inches of snow. Vehicular movement through all passes was closed this morning but was allowed after the weather improved in the afternoon. The 10,281-feet high Jalori Pass on the Aut-Luhri National Highway-305 also recorded 25 cm of snow, the first of the season. Vehicular movement came to a standstill for some time.

Meanwhile, low-lying areas of Kullu district received heavy rain while snowfall occurred on high hills in the morning. As a result, temperatures dropped sharply. Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 1.7°C. Una recorded 13.2 mm of rainfall, followed by Narkanda (13 mm) and Sundernagar (12.8 mm).

20 vehicles stuck at Sarchu

• Twenty vehicles, most of these of tourists, going from Leh towards Manali were stuck at Sarchu due to snowfall at Baralacha La on Saturday
• Baralacha La, Shinku La, Kunzum and Rohtang passes have received six to eight inches of snow. The Jalori Pass recorded 25 cm of snow