Rohtang Top Road reopens, precaution advisory for tourists

Till Monday, the only connection between Kullu-Manali and Lahaul-Spiti was the under-construction Rohtang Tunnel, which was opened only for rescue operations.

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Recently, heavy rain and untimely snowfall had wreaked havoc with infrastructure and left thousands stranded on highways. (Express photo)

Days after heavy rain and untimely snowfall played havoc with infrastructure and left thousands stranded on highways, life started returning to normal with the opening of Rohtang Top Road, which connects Kullu valley with Lahaul and Spiti, on Tuesday.

Till Monday, the only connection between Kullu-Manali and Lahaul-Spiti was the under-construction Rohtang Tunnel, which was opened only for rescue operations. Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus Khan said the Rohtang Top Road was reopened on Tuesday for all vehicles as Border Road Organisation had cleared Rohtang-Leh and Rohtang-Spiti highways. “We had opened the right bank of Kullu-Manali Highway day before yesterday (Sunday) for light vehicles, while the left bank had been opened for all types of vehicles yesterday (Monday), after which several vehicles, including that of tourists, were passing towards Manali side, from where they can take any route ahead either up to Rohtang or ahead to Lahaul-Spiti,” said Khan.

Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district, Amar Negi, also confirmed to The Indian Express the Rohtang Top Road has been opened Tuesday. “The movement of vehicles from Baralacha in Lahaul have started through this road towards Kullu-Manali as today (Tuesday) it was kept one-way from Lahaul-Spiti to Rohtang. From tomorrow (Wednesday), vehicular movement from Rohtang towards Lahaul-Spiti will start,” he said.

He added all the highways are through in the district now, but to clear the vehicular rush from Lahaul and Spiti highways, where a large number of vehicles had got stranded due to heavy snowfall from September 22 to 24, they had kept them one-way for the first two days of their opening.

The SDM also appealed to the trekkers and bikers to postpone their tour to Lahaul-Spiti till next season. “As far as tourists are concerned, weather is all fine here at the moment, but still we advised the bikers, trekkers and other tourists to follow the forecast regularly and the local porters and guides not to leave the tourists high and dry in any untoward conditions,” he said.

Hoteliers in Kullu said that several foreign tourists and bikers from Delhi had been putting up and waiting for reopening of the Rohtang-Lahaul-Spiti roads. “In our hotel, a group of bikers was waiting for the roads to open for the past five days and they left for Manali yesterday (Monday) from where they planned to go ahead to Lahaul,” said an executive at Vaishali Daimond Hotel in Kullu.

SDM Negi also said that a huge loss in apple crop is being reported from here, but the actual amount is still being calculated.

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Meanwhile, around 100 shepherds with 7,000 sheep are stranded at Bara Bhangal in Kangra district for the past several days due to heavy snowfall in Thamsar Pass. Kangra DC Sandeep Kumar has requested for a helicopter to supply them food on Wednesday.

Also a shepherd, Rakesh Kumar, is missing there, said Baijnath Sub-division SDM of Kangra.

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