Manali-Leh road blocked

Mandi, February 4

Heavy snowfall at South and North portals of Atal tunnel on the Manali-Leh highway today forced the traffic movement come to a standstill between Manali and Keylong once again. The snowfall in higher reaches has left 51 roads blocked to traffic movement in Mandi district, while 71 roads are blocked in Kullu district.

The Border Roads Organisation had yesterday restored the Manali-Leh highway to traffic between Manali and Keylong. The road was blocked since January 31 due to heavy snowfall.

Sources in Lahaul and Spiti said the south portal of Atal tunnel received above 60 cm fresh snow, while the north portal of the tunnel got above 30 cm snow forcing the suspension of traffic between Manali and Keylong. However, within the district the movement of 4×4 vehicles is going on on the Keylong-Udaipur road, the Sumdo-Kaza road and the Udaipur-Tindi road.

Lahaul-Spiti DC Rahul Kumar has urged the residents to avoid venturing to snow avalanche-prone areas of the district in the next few days.

In Kullu district, of the 71 roads blocked to traffic, 16 roads are in Banjar, 11 in Kullu, 23 in Manali and 21 in Nirmand subdivisions.

Manali SDM Raman Sharma has declared a holiday for all educational institutions, including Anganwadis, in Manali subdivision in view of the inclement weather warning on February 5. He issued a notification in this regard today.

In Mandi district, of the 51 roads blocked to traffic, 17 roads are in Seraj, 23 in Thalout, two in Sundernagar and nine in Karsog subdivisions. Apart from this, 28 transformers were disrupted in Mandi of which two transformers are in Sundernagar, 12 in Gohar and 14 in Jogindernagar subdivisions. As many as 33 water supply schemes (20 in Thunag and 13 in Sundernagar) were disrupted in the district.