|
Travel
Sites |
470-km Leh-Manali road reopens for traffic
Rohtang
Pass (Himachal Pradesh): The Border Roads Organization (BRO) have
cleared the snow from a highly treacherous road connecting the remote
region of Leh to the rest of the country, reopening traffic on the second
highest motorable road in the world. The BRO used heavy machinery to clear
the road, which also serves as a strategic route for the army to reach
the mountainous region of Leh, district headquarters of Ladakh in Jammu
and Kashmir. "Snow clearance operations are undertaken from the first
of March and the Rohtang road is opened for traffic in May. From Manali
this road gives an alternate route to Leh. This is the shortest route
and all supplies are sent through this road only. So, it's a very important
road," said Ajay Kumar Singh, Lieutenant Colonel, BRO. Singh added that
at some places, snow deposits were as high as 60 feet, sometimes taking
days just to clear a few meters of road. The rugged 470-kilometer Leh-Manali
road is open only three months a year, with heavy winter snow restricting
any entry during the remaining period. The weather changes unpredictably,
and temperatures sometimes dip to as low as Minus 40 degrees Celsius making
working in the region harsh and the sun is extremely right.
-May 12, 2006
|
Window
on India |
Tourist
offices
in India
|
News
Links |