Mandi-Kullu road restored, work to clear snow starts in Lahaul-Spiti

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) restored the Kiratpur-Manali highway to traffic between Mandi and Kullu today. The highway, which connects Mandi to Kullu, has become increasingly hazardous for travellers due to heavy rain in the region in the past two days. The strata along the highway has become loose due to continuous downpour, resulting in frequent incidents of landslide and shooting stones. This has made the journey between Mandi and Kullu risky.

The steep cutting of hillsides along this stretch of the highway has exacerbated the situation, increasing the threat of landslides. The authorities concerned have reported several incidents in the past 24 hours.

One of the most alarming incidents occurred near Banala in Mandi yesterday when a private bus got stuck in the debris of a landslide. Fortunately, there was no casualty but the incident raised concerns about the safety of public transport on this treacherous route.

A similar incident occurred near Patlikuhal in Manali when a car narrowly escaped being hit by a massive landslide. The occupants of the car were unharmed.

Meanwhile, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and Public Works Department (PWD) started the work to restore roads in Lahaul and Spiti and Mandi districts on Saturday, following an improvement in weather conditions.

In Lahaul and Spiti, the BRO started removing snow from the Manali-Leh highway between Manali and Keylong via the Atal Tunnel. The highway was blocked due to heavy snowfall near the tunnel, Sissu and Keylong for two days.

However, major roads, including the Manali-Leh highway and the Sansari-Killar-Thirot-Tandi road, remain blocked.

Meanwhile, the Kaza administration traced five missing persons. Kaza SDM Shikha stated that five persons had gone missing in the Kaza-Tabo area on Friday. A joint team of the police and revenue departments traced them to Poh village in Tabo with their last known GPS location. The authorities coordinated rescue operations through a satellite phone.