Over 800 roads, including three national highways, remained closed for vehicular movement in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday following heavy snowfall even as unprecedented influx of tourists — looking for weekend getaway — led to kilomteres-long traffic bottlenecks, especially on way to Manali. Several tourists parked their vehicles by the roadside and were seek trudging through the snow — many carrying the luggage on their heads.
The meteorological department, meanwhile, predicted that a fresh western disturbance is likely to cause heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of the state from Monday. It issued a yellow warning for the entire state.
Normal life continued to remain disrupted with State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) saying that 835 roads remained blocked by snow. As per SEOC, 282 roads, including NH 3 (Leh-Manali) and NH 505 (Kaza-Gramphu), are blocked in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti; 234 in Shimla; 110 in Mandi; 78 in Chamba; 65, including NH 305 (Sainj-Luhri-Aut) in Kullu; and 41 in Sirmour among others.
Additionally, around 1,942 transformers were disrupted, including 789 in Shimla, 354 in Sirmour, 284 in Mandi, 277 in Chamba, 174 in Kullu, 27 in Lahaul and Spiti, and 23 in Solan, leaving thousands of households without electricity.
While locals battled with power outage and disrupted water supply, tourists who rushed to the hill state hoping to make the most of the snow during the long weekend found themselves spending a better part of the journey stuck in traffic jam, especially in Kullu district.
Vehicles remain stuck in a traffic jam as heavy snowfall chokes highways and roads, leaving tourists stranded, near Manali.(ANI)
“A 13 km-long traffic jam had formed between Manali and Patlikuhal on the first day of snowfall. Today, the length of the traffic jam is around 8 km,” a police officer said.
Shahnawaz Hussain, who along with wife Eram and their two daughters, boarded a bus for Manali from Delhi, which dropped the family at Patlikuhal, nearly 16 km ahead of Manali, early morning. From there, the family hailed a taxi at 9.30am. “We are yet to reach Manali,” Hussain told The Indian Express late in the evening.
For Kailash Mishra from Lucknow, who was sharing the four-wheel drive taxi with Husaain, the journey began on Friday when he and his family boarded a train from Lucknow to Delhi, followed by the bus to Manali. “I never expected it would be so difficult to reach Manali,” Mishra, who is on his first trip to Himachal, said.
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Under normal conditions, the 16-km stretch from Patlikuhal to Manali takes around 30 minutes. However, due to heavy snowfall, traffic congestion and stranded vehicles, the same stretch took nearly 12 hours on Sunday.
Taxi driver Ashok Kumar, ferrying toursist from Patlikuhal to Manali said he was charging Rs 10,000 per trip.”On normal days, the fare is only Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500,” he added.
Kullu DC Torul S Raveesh said the snowfall has led to an unusually huge influx of tourists. “This is the season’s first snowfall, so it is natural that people want to enjoy it. We have advised tourists to explore alternative destinations like Jibhi, Manikaran and other areas that have also received good snowfall,” she told The Indian Express.
Raveesh identified the use of non-4×4 vehicles and roadside parking as the main reasons for traffic chaos. “Stranded vehicles have compounded the problem,” she added. She, however, ruled out discouraging tourists from visiting. Officials say the situation is same in Bilaspur and Mandi districts which were enroute to Manali.
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Meanwhile, Shimla witnessed relatively smoother tourist movement, though traffic congestion persisted.
Shimla SP Sanjeev Gandhi said tourists were being allowed into the city but restricted from travelling further to higher-altitude destinations.
