Chandigarh-Manali national highway restored after 18 hours

Tribune News Service

Mandi, May 5

The Chandigarh-Manali national highway was restored to one-way traffic today after almost 18 hours.

The highway was blocked after a massive landslide near Four Mile in Mandi district around 1 am on Thursday. The landslide disrupted traffic movement between Mandi and Kullu. As a result, hundreds of tourists and other persons travelling either to Kullu from Mandi or coming to Mandi from Kullu were left stranded for long hours.

Rakesh Kumar, who was transporting vegetable produce to Kullu from Mandi side, said, “We were stuck in the area since 2 am today. There was no water to drink and food to eat.”

Krishan Kumar, a tourist from Kerala, said, “Due to the landslide we were stuck in the area for long hours. The worst sufferers were women and children because there were no basic facilities or food material in the area. It was a nightmare for us.”

Additional SP, Mandi, Sagar Chand said that the highway had been restored to one-way traffic. It was blocked around 1 am. There was no loss of life in the landslide. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) engaged its workforce and machinery to clear the debris from the road. The work is underway to restore it to two-way traffic.

He said that the police had diverted traffic movement of light vehicles on alternative routes between Mandi and Kullu via Kataula and Pandoh-Chailchowk roads. Meanwhile, heavy vehicles remained stuck on the Chandigarh-Manali highway for long hours.

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