Rohtang set to open on sunday

File photo

The vital road access to Ladakh and parts of Himachal Pradesh, across the Rohtang pass near Manali, is set to open By Sunday evening, the snow will be completely removed from the Rohtang Pass and both ends will be joined.

The Rohtang Pass, which connects the Lahaul Valley to the rest of the world, was closed for the last six months due to heavy snowfall, and the Border Roads Organization has joined both ends by working day and night.

Ladakh has two access roads — one is the 475-km Srinagar-Leh the road over the Zojila and the other 477-km Manali-Leh road via Rohtang, a 13,050-foot high massif. Both remain closed for six to seven months due to heavy snowfall.

The road across the Zojila (11,570 feet high) opened last week, while the work is final stages to open the Rohtang route. “The road could be opened during the coming weekend, provided the weather remains clear for the machines to cut through the ice,” a source said.

During winters, men and rations can only be moved onboard military planes from Chandigarh. However, all equipment is moved during the summer months.

Rohtang is also associated with the economy of the tribal district of Lahaul. A large number of Valley people who migrate to low-lying areas in winter, eagerly await the opening of Rohtang for crop sowing work. Apart from this, the tourism of the valley also gets four moons after Rohtang restoration.