Rohtang Pass closed beyond Gulaba as temperature dips

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, November 29

The district administration has stopped movement of vehicular traffic towards the 13,058-foot-high Rohtang Pass beyond Gulaba. Passing the orders today, Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg said that the barrier at Marhi would be shifted to Gulaba and there would be no vehicular movement from Gulaba to Rohtang Pass till further orders.

The order states that it has been reported by Manali SDM that a joint inspection was conducted at Gulaba on Monday along with Manali DSP and representatives of BRO. It was recommended to close the Rohtang road beyond Gulaba checkpost for plying of vehicles due to formation of black ice and sub-zero temperature at different places. Therefore, in view of the recommendation of the SDM as well as keeping in mind the interest and safety of the public, the vehicular movement has been halted beyond Gulaba towards the Rohtang Pass.

The administration had halted vehicular movement beyond Kothi from Monday in the wake of the yellow alert forecast of inclement weather by the Meteorological Department. Now the Pass has been closed for the winter season as it experiences heavy snowfall.

Generally every year the Rohtang Pass is officially closed on November 15 for vehicular movement but sometimes the vehicles ply till there is no accumulation of snow and the road is cleared by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). Even this year the vehicles were allowed to go to the top till November 26 as the weather remained favourable. The vehicular movement is generally restored in the last week of May with the onset of summer. This year vehicles were allowed after June 6.

The Rohtang Pass is a major tourist attraction for the visitors to Manali to enjoy the snow on the Pass from May to November. Various adventure activities are available for the visitors in the tourist spot. To conserve the fragile ecology of the region, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had restricted that only 1,200 vehicles (800 petrol and 400 diesel) will be allowed toward the Rohtang Pass in a single day. Online permits are available through a website by paying Rs 550 per vehicle to go beyond Gulaba barrier.

The beneficiaries of the tourism industry urged that the cap on the number of vehicles going to Rohtang Pass should be increased. They said that during season time, approximately 5,000 vehicles come daily to Manali. They added that Rohtang Pass is the most favourite destination of the tourists but many visitors remain deprived of visiting the destination because of the cap on number of vehicles. They alleged that some taxi operators having permits fleece the tourists and it was also encouraging black marketing.

Kullu-Manali Paryatan Vikas Mandal president Anup Ram Thakur said that now most of the vehicles going to Lahaul go through the Atal Tunnel after its opening in October 2020 and vehicle pressure had reduced towards Rohtang. He said that the government should approach the NGT with this fact and plead to review the cap on the number of vehicles. He said that Rohtang Pass was the backbone of the tourism industry of Manali and all efforts should be made to maintain its grandeur.

Black ice formation begins

• The Rohtang road beyond Gulaba checkpost has been closed due to formation of black ice and sub-zero temperature conditions at different places
• Generally the Rohtang Pass is officially closed on Nov 15 for vehicular movement but sometimes the vehicles ply till there is no accumulation of snow on the road
• This year the vehicles were allowed to go to the top till November 26. The vehicular movement is generally restored in the last week of May with the onset of summer

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