SHIMLA: Hundreds of travellers most of them locals including a patient from Tindi from Lahaul valley stranded on the Keylong- Manali highway at Tandi for more than four hours after the police stopped them there to allow a clear passage to local BJP MLA and Minister Dr Ramlal Markande.
The video of commuters along with their vehicles stranded at Tandi has gone viral on social media blaming their long torturous wait for four hours on the Minister and mismanagement by local administration. The commuters rued that they had to wait in the freezing cold at Tandi for four hours since morning.
According to locals the Minister was to arrive at Sissu rest house by 11 am today, but he did not turn up at Sissu till 2 pm . The police should have allowed the vehicles to cross the Atal tunnel knowing that the minister was late.
The commuters would have reached Kullu in four hours time and the patient of Tindi would have not suffered due to this long wait, they charged.
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has opened the Manali-Keylong Highway for one way traffic till Keylong. But the most of the hotels and home stays are shut due to heavy snow and frozen water supply in the valley, informed Prem Lal, a resident of Lahaul.
BRO has also opened the Changla road in Ladakh connecting the remote villages to the Leh and Kargil, said Konchok Stanzin, a local resident who drove on this road, complementing the BRO for this feat. Manali- Atal Rohtang tunnel stretch was restored for traffic last week. BRO restored Manali -Keylong Highway for small 4x4 vehicles today.
The restoration of the Srinagar-Zoji La- Leh highway is still on after the high land Passes received heavy snowfall ranging from the two feet to three ft early this week.
BRO had moved its machineries for snow- clearing on these highways soon after the weather cleared three days ago. The snowfall has rung in tourism boom and “white manure” for vegetable and apple industry of the Himalayan region.
On the other hand, Divisional Commissioner union territory of Ladakh had closed the Leh-Zoji-La- Srinagar Highway for all kinds of traffic last week stating that the road has become unworthy of traffic due to snowfall till further order.
The administration has advised the tourists and local commuters to travel slowly on the snowy roads, which are opened for traffic - Kullu-Manali, Shimla-Narkanda, Kufri-Fagu-Kharapathar and Deha-Khirki-Chharki-Chopal roads.
Those travelling on long snow stretches should chain their wheels to avoid skidding that otherwise could be dangerous in the mountain region, cautioned Suresh Chauhan, a former DSP in HP Police.
