Traffic jam for miles as rain, landslides strand tourists on Manali highway
- Vehicles were left stranded on the Chandigarh-Manali highway for hours on Sunday due to heavy rainfall and landslides at places in Himachal Pradesh.
Tourists on holiday in Himachal Pradesh were in for a rude shock on Sunday, as hundreds of them were left stranded on Chandigarh-Manali highway for hours after heavy rainfall and landslides at different places hampered traffic flow. Videos and images of traffic jam in the hills went viral since last night, showing vehicles queued up for miles. According to the state authorities, hundreds were stuck in Aut in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district as the Chandigarh-Manali highway (National Highway 21) was blocked following flash floods and landslides.
Flash floods hit Aut on the Pandoh–Kullu stretch of the highway. Several vehicles were washed away in heavy rainfall in Kullu district last night. The vehicles were later retrieved with the help of JCB vehicle. The Chandigarh-Manali highway remained closed due to the conditions. Officials have said that work to restore traffic on the highway is on with help of explosives to blast heavy boulders causing blockades.
Also check these Vehicles
40 kWh
150 Km
3996.0 cc
Petrol
The Chandigarh-Manali Highway, also known as National Highway 21, Chandigarh with Manali. Sagar Chander, Mandi ASP, said, “There was a flash flood in Pandoh area that caused the 2-lane National Highway to be closed. The tourists and the local people were stuck in the traffic on the highway for 3 hours yesterday. The water was diverted and the road was cleared."
The traffic chaos continued on Monday morning as well. Commuters have been advised not to move towards Mandi until road repair work is complete. “We have been struck since last evening as the road is closed leading to a traffic jam and a large number of vehicles are stranded on both sides of the roads at Aut and six mile," said Prashant, one of the commuters stranded while going to Mandi from Chandigarh.
Himachal Pradesh has been witnessing heavy rains in Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur districts over the past weekend. The Beas river has swelled threatening more flash floods and landslides in coming days. The weather office has issued alert for heavy rain for the next two days as well.
