Heavy snow on way to Chandratal lake hindering evacuation of 293 stranded tourists

Tribune News Service

Dipender Manta

Mandi, July 12

Heavy snow on the way to Chandratal Lake from Losar in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district has proved a major deterrent for the district administration to evacuate the 293 stranded tourists out of the area safely for the past four days.

The tourists were stranded at Chandratal since Saturday due to blockade of road in the region.

On Tuesday, a rescue team comprising the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) personnel, local youths and officials led by Kaza ADC Rahul Jain moved towards Chandratal from Losar, but heavy snow on the Losar-Chandratal road disrupted their access to the site.

The BRO started the snow clearing operation on the road on Tuesday and were able to restore only 12km of road from Losar towards Chandratal.

According to officials, 25-km-long road is still covered under thick blanket of snow upto Chandratal, where up to 4 feet of snow has been reported.

Due to freezing temperatures in the region, the BRO could not continue the restoration work on the road, which resumed on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, seven critically ill tourists were evacuated from Chandratal to Bhunter airport, Kullu, in an Indian Air Force chopper.

The state government has deployed six choppers to evacuate stranded tourists. All stranded tourists are safe at Chandratal, said officials.

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