Over 10,000 tourists rescued from Solang

About 2,000 vehicles, including tourist cars and buses, were stranded in Solang Nala of Kullu district yesterday following heavy snowfall in the Lahaul valley and the Manali region. The snowfall caused a major traffic disruption on the Manali-Leh Highway. According to the local police, over 10,000 tourists stranded in the region were safely evacuated.

A snowstorm, which began early in the morning, led to an abrupt halt to traffic movement, leaving vehicles stranded in the region’s steep and treacherous terrains. The authorities concerned swiftly began a rescue operation and deployed police teams to help the stranded persons.

DSP, Manali KD Sharma said that the rescue operation focused on ensuring the safety of tourists and other passengers, who were stranded for several hours in the region. He confirmed that all stranded vehicles, including buses and cars, were safely evacuated last night and the travellers were transported to secure locations in Manali, away from the snow-hit areas.

The DSP said that over 10,000 tourists along with their vehicles were evacuated safely to Manali. Around 1,800 vehicles were moved safely to Manali from snow-bound Solang Nala, while 200 vehicles are still stuck in the area. All tourists were rescued safely and transported to safe places in Manali. The rescue operation ended around 6 am today. The police jawans displayed exemplary courage to lead the rescue operation throughout the night in sub-zero temperatures amid heavy snowfall.

He said, “Due to a warning of snowfall in the region on Friday, we did not allow the movement of tourist vehicles beyond Solang Nala towards the Atal Tunnel on the Manali-Leh highway, otherwise, it could have worsened the situation. Thankfully, no untoward incident occurred.”

SDM, Manali, Raman Sharma said, “On Saturday, traffic movement towards the Solang valley and the Lahaul valley on the Manali-Leh highway beyond Nehru Kund was restricted.”

The district administration has also issued warnings to tourists and locals to avoid unnecessary travel in the region due to the ongoing snowfall and hazardous road conditions. The authorities concerned have been working to clear the highway and restore normalcy.

Meanwhile, a few tourists vented their resentment against the local administration on social media, after they were stranded in the area for long hours.

Two evacuated from Lahaul village

• A police team rescued two persons stranded near Salgram village in Lahaul and Spiti district due to heavy snowfall on Friday
• Late Friday night, the in-charge of Tindi police station, Head Constable Sanjeev, received a distress call. He, along with his team and BRO officials led by Captain Sunil, reached the place and carried out a rescue operation
• Lahaul -Spiti SP Mayank Chaudhary said, “The stranded persons were safely escorted to a local rest house at Tindi and accommodated there. However, their vehicle is still stuck in snow and could not be retrieved due to severe weather conditions.”