Manali road cleared of snow, Rohtang thrown open to tourists

Abhinav Vashisht

KULLU, MAY 5

Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg today issued an order allowing tourist vehicles to go to the 13,058 feet high Rohtang Pass, a world famous tourist attraction ahead of Manali. The BRO accomplished the task of clearing snow on the Manali-Rohtang Pass road on Tuesday.

Manali SDM Surender Thakur carried out inspection of the road yesterday and found that movement of vehicles on this route could be allowed. On the basis of the report submitted by him the Kullu Deputy Commissioner issued orders, giving permission for movement of all types of vehicles up to Rohtang Pass. The movement of vehicles towards the Pass will, however, depend upon the weather conditions prevailing on the day.

The BRO had launched the snow-clearing operation on the Manali-Rohtang road on April 8. However, the snow had already melted up to Gulaba. A joint team of the administration, police and Manali Municipal Committee carried out an inspection on April 10 to allow tourist vehicles till Gulaba beyond Kothi. The Kullu administration had reopened tourist hotspot Marhi, midway between Manali and the Rohtang Pass on April 15.

Those associated with the tourism industry were glad with the opening of the Rohtang Pass for tourists. A big attraction amongst the tourists, Rohtang Pass is the backbone of the tourism industry in Manali. The tourists can have fun and enjoy various adventure activities in the snow on the mighty Pass even in the month of June and July.

The tourism beneficiaries say that Rohtang is a world famous tourist destination and the government should take serious steps to preserve its grandeur.

A hotelier Budhi Prakash Thakur said that the tourism department should ensure that the existing tourist attractions are preserved and infrastructure is upgraded in tourist hotspots to facilitate tourists. He demanded that more tourist spots should be developed around Manali to sustain the economy of the region.