Relief for Lahaul-Spiti residents as Rohtang Pass reopens

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, May 19

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) restored the 13,050-foot high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul on the Manali-Leh highway, for vehicular movement on Sunday morning.

Residents of tribal district Lahaul-Spiti heaved a sigh of relief with the opening of the pass.

Every year Rohtang receives heavy snowfall, which cuts off the residents from the rest of the state for several months. The closure of the pass leaves them with no road connectivity and telecommunication services.

A majority of the residents move to Kullu-Manali during the winter. Today voters will be allowed to move towards Lahaul-Spiti from Kullu-Manali to exercise their franchise in the General Election.

Every year in the month of March, the BRO starts snow-clearing operation from the Manali and Lahaul sides towards Rohtang to restore the pass for vehicular activity. Generally, the pass is restored in the end of April or mid-May every year, depending on the quantity of snowfall in the region.

The Rohtang Pass is a favourite tourist destination, where tourist can enjoy snow activity even till the end of June. Every year, a large number of tourists visit Rohtang to enjoy snow activities. Till now the tourist were allowed up to Marhi.

“With the relentless efforts of the BRO team, we have been able to restore the pass in stipulated time. There were lot of challenges to restore the pass in such a short period because as we faced snow avalanche threat, land sliding and bad weather conditions in the region,” a BRO official said

“This year the amount of snowfall was quite heavy in the region, which was a big challenge for us. However, we met the May 19 target and restored the pass successfully,” he said.

Hoteliers of Kullu and Manali are also elated with the opening of the pass. They are hopeful that the district administration will allow tourists up to Rohtang in coming days.