Over 100 stranded in Lahaul airlifted

The government deployed three helicopters,including a 26-seater Mesco chopper,to airlift the stranded people to Manali. A private helicopter,which was sent by a company to airlift its personnel working on a hydel project site,was also asked to help in the rescue operation.

“Priority was given to the elderly,women and the sick,” said General R K Doon of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF),a government agency maintaining the Manali-Leh highway that passes through Rohtang Pass.

Among them were a few medical emergency cases too.

“The operation has been completed successfully. But local MLA Ram Markandy has requested us to make a few more sorties to check if anybody is left out and airlift those stuck in Manali to Keylong,” said Ajay Bhandari,Secretary,General Administration.

Initially,the government had deployed its official four-seater helicopter,which conducted over a half a dozen trips between Keylong and Manali,but later realised the need to press into service a bigger aircraft and summoned Mesco.

“The government has already entered into a separate contract with the Mesco to carry out helicopter services in the snow-covered tribal belt,including Pangi and Lahaul-Spiti,during winters,” said Bhandari.

He said early snow left over a hundred people trapped in the Lahaul-Spiti areas as Rohtang Pass was closed to vehicular traffic.

Doon,meanwhile,said the work to clear the roads of snow had been going on for the last 11 days.

The government has approached the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to clear the snow and restore vehicular movement as soon as possible as a large number of private and government vehicles are stranded. If these vehicles are not able to cross the Rohtang Pass now,it will take six months to bring these back to Manali and other areas.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner B N Nanta said the local administration was in touch with the BRO to see the road was cleared within the next two days.