MANALI (Himachal Pradesh), Dec 31: Five hundred vehicles carrying 2,000 tourists
stranded in the Atal tunnel in Manali following heavy snowfall were rescued
on Friday after an 8-hour-long operation.
The police teams from Keylong and Manali conducted the rescue operation. The
stranded tourists were provided food.
Tourists were thronging Kullu-Manali to celebrate the New Year. They were also
heading to Kalpa, Kufri and Narkanda to see the whiteout. Chamba district and
Pangi valley also received heavy snowfall.
Kothi, Khadrala, Udaipur, Kalpa, Pooh, Sangla, Gondola, Shillaro, Kukumseri
received 3 to 15 cm of snow. Traffic was also disrupted in Shimla, Chamba, Kinnaur
and Lahaul and Spiti.
The tourist vehicles were stranded at both south and north portals of the tunnel.
The Manali-Atal tunnel-Keylong highway was covered by a thick layer of snow
on Thursday and the road has been closed for all vehicles. Vehicles were stranded
as the roads became slippery due to snowfall and the subsequent congestion.
On Thursday hundreds of vehicles carrying tourists had entered Lahaul valley
from Manali through the tunnel but when the snowfall became heavy the roads
were rendered difficult to negotiate and the vehicles were stranded, especially
between the Dhundi nullah and the tunnel.
Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti was the coldest place in Himachal with minus
6.3 deg C.
Atal Tunnel, named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
is a tunnel built under the Rohtang Pass on Leh-Manali Highway in Himachal Pradesh.
The 9-km long tunnel was opened in 2020.
Himachal - Of hills, valleys
and rivers
27 students injured in bus accident near Baramati in Maharashtra
MUMBAI: At least 27 students were injured when a private bus carrying
them met with an accident near Baramati in Maharashtra on Saturday. The incident
took place near Pahunewadi bridge on Baramati-Phaltan Road. The students were
on a tour to Shirdi.
Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson, who opened a new chapter in
space age last month by launching the first manned private flight
to the edge of space, flying in his own spaceplane, has
invited everyone to join his expedition of space travel and
experience the thrill of totally losing your weight (BMI = 0) and enjoy
the mind-blowing sight of the earth's curvatures from the orbit far above: 
Can we ask the vaccinator, "Do you pull back the plunger and
then push the vaccine? Do you Aspirate?" When the vaccination
for covid started there were reports of worrisome incidents of
adverse events post immunisation, the serious complaints being
non-specific blood clots. These related to viral vector vaccines of
human and non-human source: AstraZeneca and Janssen. How
did it happen. There are various views. But here is a suggestion
how simply it can be prevented. 
While the rationalists debunk the episode as a ploy to make up for
the losses in offerings during the corona lockdown, the believers
stick to their claim, they have seen it after all! The claim of
Shankaralinga temple resembles the miracle of Ganesha drinking
milk in Delhi way back in 1995. Although they belong to two
different branches of science. 
A pair of socks gifted to her by her niece displayed on her legs has done
the job for Gumball Poodle. The demand for 'Future is Female' is
skyrocketing indeed. What more could one ask for?
